Bearer of the Legendary Weapons
by rwby1989
Summary: Jaune always wanted to emulate the heroes of old, and especially his grandfather, uncle and eldest sister who had encouraged him to take his dream to Beacon. What he did not realize was how big of a change he would make the moment he laid his hands on some armaments. Canon AU based on story challenge by dracohalo117, Jaune slightly OC. Rated T for a reason.
1. Prologue - A Change in Fate

**Disclaimer:**

The works of Rooster-Teeth and their characters are their own and that of the mighty Oum. The only thing I own are the one-shot ideas that popped into my head and whatever OCs I would create for them. This is a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, flames will be ignored. Any references to characters in real-life or fiction are purely coincidental. If I could make money out of my ideas, it would be nice...

Oum Damn It!

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 **Date Published: 19th September 2017**

 **Chapter Title: Prologue - A Change in Fate**

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Fate can be a very fickle thing for different individuals. Ask them what they think of fate and you would get many answers.

For one group of people, it suggests the inevitably of things to come, something that is predetermined by some outside forces. Something that cannot be worked around in spite of any and all effort to do so.

For a second group, it is often used with the word 'destiny', where the user in question will take an active role in a set of predetermined events, provided the person is willing to take the plunge.

And then we have those who have heard of their fates, told of their inevitability and how they should accept it. These are the ones who decided that they will still decide their fates to be made by their own hands no matter the cost, and they managed to do so, often achieving great things in life and reaching the pinnacle of their success, or to perish alone on a hill of blades, betrayed by one's beliefs.

The lesson in this: One can never and in some cases, should not use fate as a way of justifying the means to the end of a task. One does not presume that fate dictates your actions or that you can't do anything about it.

Because one can never tell when life decides to throw a curve ball in your midst and alter your fate in a different manner.

=()=

Jaune would like to think that he thought of everything not related to Hunters.

Firstly, he knew that his sisters would want him to bring along the bunny onesie, his younger sisters wanting it to be an item to remember them by, while his elder sisters want to pull off one last prank on him, which was why he created a secret pocket in his bag at the last moment to ensure that he had one set of normal pajamas when sleeping, thus ensuring he would not be an embarrassment to the public, only reserving it for the room where he would sleep in the future.

Secondly, Jaune took his sister's advice and got some air sickness pills to take before going on board the airship headed to Beacon as she had a feeling that Jaune would be so nervous that he might throw up in the airship. That certainly spared him the troubles of his stomach and not lose his lunch, and more importantly, the absolute embarrassment he would have obtained like the one guy who vomited all over some hot blonde's shoes, sending her and a younger girl screaming. In that sense, he was able to make a better impression when he went to help the younger girl out after she got herself blown up somehow, thus leading to a relatively good, if not embarrassing to him, meeting with her older half-sister who clearly enjoyed his reactions to her appearance and flirting.

Thirdly, he got the full nine hours of sleep to obtain the necessary energy needed for the initiation, unwittingly giving him an opportunity to get some good breakfast and chat with one energetic girl who seemed to have one major motor mouth and her almost catatonic partner who looked ready to hit the coffin. He hoped to be able to meet them later.

Lastly and by far one of the most important moments of his life, he followed the instructions of his uncle and his eldest sister to _not_ follow his father's advice about women liking confidence. On that front he was eternally grateful to those two as he was able to somewhat hold a short, if not tensed conversation with that white-haired girl and another brief one with the beautiful red-head who was apparently someone famous that he recognized from the cereal that he and his sisters ate back home.

It was that advice which made him firmly believe was the reason he was still alive as he got saved from becoming a bloody smear on the ground by the one and only Pyrrha Nikos who threw her spear with such accuracy it pinned him to the tree. Once she came to help him off the tree they continued to complete the initiation, all while having a light talk about each other's hobbies and bits of personal history. It was also thanks to her that he finally obtained Aura, something that was apparently indispensable for all Hunters and something that he woefully hated his father for not telling him about amongst other matters.

And thus, they found themselves in front of a huge cave made in the face of the small mountain they encountered.

"You think this is it?" Jaune turned to the red-headed girl next to him as he gestured to the cave opening.

"I am not sure if this is the place." Pyrrha looked uncertain as she looked at the opening while gesturing at the wall paintings next to them depicting several humans fighting off a giant scorpion. "The Headmaster said that we are looking for a temple, this looks more like a cavern. And I don't think the markings are for show." She turned back to him with a slightly uneasy expression. "I think we need to keep moving." Jaune bit a lip as he looked at the wall paintings before alternating his eyes between his partner and the entrance.

In another life, he would have foolishly suggested to go inside, ignoring whatever warnings there were and likely get himself pummeled to the ground or thrown to some far-off place, maybe with his luck be at some actual ruins and likely collide with someone midway.

But after hearing some stories from his uncle, grandfather and his eldest sister about the dangers of the world and how some of their Hunter companions lost their limbs or lives, and taking into account his lack of ability, he would heed the advice of a more experienced fighter.

"Okay, I think you got a point." Pyrrha visibly sagged with relief at his agreement. "But that just leaves us with a bit of problem. We still need to find this temple and fast." Jaune gestured with his thumb at the dark clouds. "Looks like a storm is coming."

"Well then, we should make haste." No sooner Pyrrha said that, the clap of thunder roared around them, making them clamp down on their ears while wincing from the ringing. A second later a lightning bolt struck the hillside, destroying parts of the mountain and raining boulders on the both of them. Pyrrha tried to move away but the suddenness of the lightning bolt and the resulting power that shook the earth forced her to ground, leaving her open to the boulders heading her way.

"Pyrrha watch out!" Jaune grabbed her and pulled her back in time to avoid one particularly big boulder that smashed the ground where she stood and embedded itself deeply. Without further ado, he made to bring her back to the entrance and held her tightly against the wall while using himself as a shield to protect her from the rocks.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha called out as she struggled to be free and to stop him from hurting himself.

"Just hold on!" Jaune winced in pain as some of the rocks hit his armour, the impact managing to make his back plates dig into his back but ensuring none hit his head from the odd angles. It did not take long for the landslide of rocks to stop, but the result was the accumulation of debris that sealed them off from their freedom.

"Are you okay, Pyrrha?" Jaune slowly released his hold on her and looked at her in concern at her expression of fear, shock and something else.

"I… I am fine Jaune. Just a little shaken." Pyrrha spoke a little softly while looking slightly uncomfortable and embarrassed with a red face. "And Jaune, could you… you can let me go now?" It was at that point that Jaune realized their positions and the manner he had one arm wrapped around her waist protectively while the other was against the wall for supporting his body, thus putting them in close proximity with one another. With the few rays of light shining through the gaps of the blockade, Jaune could not help but notice her lightly curved face with pale skin, luscious red hair that seemed to flow naturally over his arm and emerald eyes that gleamed like actual gemstones. He could not help but note that she was a very beautiful girl…

And the fact that he was pining her against a rock wall and thus unwittingly feeling her body against his own.

' _I thank the Lord that Coral isn't here, she would tease me to the end of time.'_

"I am so sorry!" Jaune quickly removed his arm around her and moved away a few steps to give her some room, scratching the back of his head while feeling the blood rush to his head. "I did not mean to be so close to you, I was trying to make sure no rocks hit you!"

"It is okay. Thank you." Pyrrha assured him while lightly moving a stray strand of hair out of the way, making the gesture very cute to Jaune. She looked to the closed off entrance with a frown. "Well I don't think we can get out that way."

"Not for now at least." Jaune winced at the sound of the thunder clapping and the rain now coming through the gaps of the rocks. "For the time being, we would have to stay put or try to find another way out. Hopefully the storm ends by then."

"I suppose so." Pyrrha sighed before looking at him woefully. "Looks like we end up exploring the cave after all."

"Looks that way." Jaune shrugged as he set about making a quick torch out of the few pieces of wood that got broken by the boulders and landed near them. In no time he was able to make two torches for the both of them, greatly increasing their vision in the dimming light.

"Thank you, you are pretty quick in making these." Pyrrha complemented him as she took the torch handed to her.

"I spent a bit of time in the outdoors with my grandpa." Jaune spoke as he adjusted his armour and weapon. "He tends to give me tips on surviving the outside world, though it was not fully related to Hunter training. Still at least he helps me a lot in my life, alongside my uncle and eldest sister."

"Let's see." Jaune closed his eyes as he focused his senses and his mind for a moment. "Okay there should be another opening somewhere else. This type of cave should have multiple openings elsewhere."

"Another tip from your personal survival school?" Pyrrha asked as she checked her equipment.

"My eldest sister." Jaune nodded as he lifted his torch and checked the ceiling for leaks. "If the paintings are correct, a creature of that size should have another escape route in the event this one is closed off. That much is certain."

"I see. How about your father? Any tips he gave you for this situation?" The moment those words left her mouth, Pyrrha knew she screwed up badly as she watched a shadow cover Jaune's face as all expression left it. He paused for a moment before walking into the darkness.

"He did not bother teaching me anything useful." Jaune spoke in an emotionless tone as he continued on. Pyrrha felt her heart gripped tightly in shame as she noted the underlying bitterness present in his words. There was no other way of saying it, but clearly, he had a very strained relationship with his father and he made it very clear that he did not wish to talk about it. She silently followed him into the cave, slowly walking about the area to avoid slipping into the many puddles that gathered. After a while she plucked up the courage and walked a little ahead of him before turning and facing him in the eye.

"I'm sorry." She bowed her head deeply as she apologized. After a few seconds she heard Jaune let out a resigned sigh.

"It is not your fault, you did not know about my situation." Jaune placed a hand on her shoulder to get her to look up. "If anything, I am the one who must apologize. I did not mean for you to see me like that, and I must remember that having these types of feelings around these parts is bad news since Grimm would love to have a taste of this blonde scraggly guy with a side seasoning of negative emotions." Jaune waved his hand flamboyantly as he flicked his hair. The manner he did it made Pyrrha cupped her mouth in a futile attempt to stifle the laughter that was emitting from her mouth, but she soon let her hand drop to her stomach as she let it all out, her laughter sounding like chimes in the cave.

"I think there should be some spices needed to be used for cooking in your case." She managed to speak after taking a few breaths.

"I believe you would know that." Jaune remarked with a smirk. "Despite popular belief, I do not taste like chicken even if you try to catch me like a bird of prey with your weapon."

"I am not going to be let off on that huh?" Pyrrha rolled her eyes in good humor.

"Nope~" Jaune replied while extending the 'p'. The both of them looked at each other before letting out another laugh, their earlier mood now lifted.

'ROOOARRR!'

The sound of a huge creature letting out a bellow in the cave put an end to their laughter and looked to the origin with pale faces. "Pyrrha, please tell me that was your stomach?" Jaune asked with a nervous tone as he gripped the torch tighter while grabbing the handle of his sword.

"Only if you tell me that was actually your stomach?" Pyrrha jabbed the end of her torch into the cracks of the wall and grabbed her weapons.

"Sorry, it is not my stomach." Jaune gulped as he did the same actions as her. "You know what I am feeling now?"

"Soul crushing regret?" Pyrrha quipped. The sounds of something huge and heavy started to fill the silence of the cave, the enclosed space making it echo louder and seemingly heavier.

"Yup~" Jaune said as the sounds got closer and harder. But it seemed that the creature coming their way was too heavy for the ground to support its weight, because cracks started to appear and widen on its approach. When it seemed that it was about to close in on them, the ground completely broke apart and taken the two of them by complete surprise and unprepared for what to come next.

"OH SHIT!" Jaune yelled loudly as the ground gave out below them and they found themselves plunging down to the cavern that was evidently at the bottom of the mountain. They did not freefall for too long as they hit a gentle slope and started to slide down rapidly somewhere. Before they could take the time to orientate themselves, the slope beneath them ran out and they hit the ground hard.

"GAH!" Jaune let out a pained grunt as he gingerly got up from the ground. "Damn it I am going to be feeling that in the morning." He looked around using the after-glow from the remains of his torch and started to panic at not finding Pyrrha around. "Pyrrha, are you there?!"

"Here!" He turned around and immediately felt relieved at seeing her having landed in a relatively soft patch of dirt. Looks like she had a fair amount of luck on her side.

"Are you okay?" Jaune mentally berated himself for asking that in a situation like this, but it seemed that Pyrrha did not mind as she wobbled slightly while getting up.

"I will live." Pyrrha winced as a bone popped loudly in the cavern. "A little sore in the back but I can move."

"That's good." Jaune looked up and around with a frown. "Weird to think that this opened up to another cave."

"The ground seemed to be quite unstable. I guess the earlier lightning strike may have weakened it and the creature from earlier did the rest by pounding on the ground." Pyrrha said now being able to stand on her two feet without looking unsteady. "I guess we should count ourselves a little lucky that we are just at the bottom of some cavern, rather than dealing with whatever it was up there."

"You don't think it is here with us, right now?" Jaune looked at the shadows with a wary eye as though he was expecting the creature to jump out from them.

"I don't think we have to worry about that, it was still a fair bit away from us when the ground collapsed so it is likely still up there but not moving." Pyrrha assured him as she dusted herself. "And if it were with us, it would have made a fair amount of racket to get out of this rock pile."

"I see." Jaune let out a sigh before frowning as he touched his side. "Oh crap."

"What's wrong?"

"I dropped my weapons when we fell." Jaune cursed as he tried to search the area with the limited light he could get from the small flame. "Considering the creature that is in the caves, I am going to be a sitting duck at this rate."

"Okay, let me help you with that." Pyrrha looked at her side and started to shift some of the rocks, subtly using her Semblance of polarity to find his weapon. "If I might comment, you are the only person I know outside of Mistral who uses such a classic weapon. Even for those in my home, very few solely use a sword or a spear without some form of firearms."

"It belonged to my great-great-grandfather, passed down to my grandpa." Jaune moved some of the bigger rocks while grunting from the effort. "Calling it a classic is a bit of an understatement, it was one of the first-generation weapons to feature some form of moving mechanisms that you see in current Hunter Weapons, and it was used during the Great War."

"Wait, the same Great War where the four kingdoms fought one another?" Pyrrha paused in her search to look at him in disbelief. "But that is roughly seventy years ago, no weapon should be able to last that long!"

"Well this one did." Jaune shrugged before continuing his search. "What little I know about it, weapons from that period were made with a special ore that resists rust and metal deterioration, and Crocea Mors had another ore that can handle huge impacts and actually strengthen its properties, so the combination works well." Pyrrha let out a light whistle of admiration for the blacksmith of that period and wondered if she could get those ores for her weapon.

Whatever thoughts they had were put on hold at the sounds of some clicking that echoed in the cavern. They turned to find small eyes of red glaring back at them, with more appearing by the minute.

"Oh crud!" Jaune backed away while grabbing the torch. He would have to make do with the torch while he tried to find his weapons. Pyrrha however had other ideas as she went ahead of him and held up her spear.

"Jaune, go and find your weapons while I hold them off!" She yelled out as the first creature came out to the light. The Grimm that came before them was some arthropod centipede with scythes for legs, alternating colored body segments of black and white and its mandibles seemed to be glistening with some type of acidic saliva as drops of it dripped to the ground and started to eat through the dirt while spewing smoke. Glowing eyes of crimson peeked through the white masks as the Grimm let out a hissing sputter with its mandibles.

"Great, just what we needed. Acidic bugs." Jaune grumbled as he shifted the rocks faster to find his weapon. It was more than just protecting himself right now, he needed to help Pyrrha in whatever way he could.

Pyrrha started to engage the Grimm in close quarters, using her shield to block the bladed legs and the mandibles, taking extra care to ensure the acid did not touch her bare skin. Her claim of being the four-time Mistral champion was certainly not an empty boast as she was able to switch between offense and defense in a split second while utilizing her multi-form weapon to its best capabilities by alternating all of the forms.

From his angle, Jaune could see that the creature was favoring the right side of its face, using its giant feelers to swipe at Pyrrha while keeping her from hitting the left. When it turned to avoid a strike, he could see in the dim lighting that it seemed to be having issues looking at her from that side.

"Pyrrha, keep attacking the left side of its body! It can't see well there!" Jaune called out to her while throwing a huge rock at the creature to draw its attention, thus exposing the weak side to Pyrrha. She took note and fired off a few rounds at that side of the face, making it hiss in agony and bumping its body against the cavern walls. Jumping to avoid the feeler aimed at her, Pyrrha switched her weapon form back into a spear and viciously stabbed it into the eye, causing it to roar out angrily and twisting its body in an attempt to shake her off, which was successful while causing the ground to rumble greatly.

"Shit!" Jaune lost his footing and slipped to the ground, dropping the torch and unfortunately gaining the attraction of the Grimm which hissed at him and pushed forward, ignoring the shots given by Pyrrha in a futile attempt to attract its attention.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha cried out to him as the Grimm got closer. Jaune shuffled and scrambled on all fours, his eyes focused on the creature that was opening and closing its mouth quickly.

 _'I need a weapon! I need a weapon! I need a weapon! I need...'_

His thoughts got interrupted when his hand touched smooth steel and wrapped around it. Without thinking about it, Jaune swung just as the Grimm leapt forward with its mouth opened wide, ready to swallow him whole.

 _'Shring!'_

The sound of cold steel slicing through the air was soon followed by the painful roars of the Grimm as it thrashed violently all over the place with half of its right mandible and feelers removed rather brutally. Jaune got to his feet and brandished the weapon before him, now taking note of the item he had in his hand. And he frowned lightly at the sight.

' _This is not my weapon.'_

The weapon in question was a sword of a rather simple and somewhat unusual design. Its hilt was basically a long handle with a pointed pommel and an oddly shaped cross-guard that seemingly covered the entirety of the back and a good portion of the single-edged blade. The fuller had odd angled designs that separated the covering from the black edge of the sword, giving the weapon the overall look of a blade that was designed for heavy strikes.

"Jaune, look out!" His observations got stopped by Pyrrha who yelled as the creature stopped its thrashing and was now looking at him with distinct anger in its eyes. It let out a roar and lunged at him, now intent on crushing him instead of eating him. With a yell, he jumped to one side to avoid the hit, but got thrown back from the aftershock.

 _'Okay, got to make this work!'_ Jaune rolled a few times before coming to a clumsy stop, getting into a kneeling position while gripping the handle with both hands. Unknowingly for the both of them, the blade started to glow lightly in the cavern. The centipede Grimm wheeled around from its side and set about to attack. Jaune was about to move when a light tugging at the back of his head made him pause, as though to wait for the right opportunity. Then as though someone flipped a switch in his head, the Grimm seemed to slow down and for whatever reason, the color scheme seemed to switch to reveal vein-like patterns all around its body, with odd spots glowing a bright red. Without a thought, Jaune leaped forward and stabbed the blade deeply into one of those spots.

"RRRRHHHGGYYYYAAA!'

The Grimm let out a terrifying screech of agony as it tried to throw Jaune off. With a grunt, Jaune pushed the blade even further into its body while hanging on for dear life. With a final roar, the Grimm crashed to the ground and laid still, its eyes now losing the glow and the body starting to disintegrate. Jaune let out a sigh as he pulled the sword out of it and jumped off it, but he was not given reprieve as Pyrrha came over, grabbed his collar, and proceeded to pull him away quickly.

"Whoa!"

"Hold on a minute, I got to blow up the walls first!" Pyrrha temporarily lifted him and threw him to the far side before turning around and firing off a round at some raw deposits of dust in the wall, detonating them and demolishing that portion of the wall and parts of the ceiling, thus blocking them off from the Grimm that were just about to launch themselves at them.

"... Is it safe?" Jaune asked quietly, not wanting to move from his spot.

"We are okay now." Pyrrha let out a tired sigh as she leaned against the wall. "God, I want this initiation over with and get to bed."

"You have my vote on that." Jaune got up from his spot and moved slowly to her.

"I did not hurt you just now, did I?" Pyrrha turned to him with a concerned look.

"Nah, the Grimm was giving me more pain." Jaune winced as he felt one of his bones popped back into position with his Aura. He was really thankful for the unlocking by Pyrrha. "That was like riding one of the stable horses back home. That guy was a rough one."

"Still I am sorry for throwing you without warning. There was no time." Pyrrha bowed her head in shame.

"Hey at least you are able to keep them away from us now." Jaune assured her while placing his hands on her shoulders. "I think you may have taken them all out, as for me I could only take on one." That seemed to perk her up a little as she started to smile lightly.

"You say that, but you were the one who took on that creature when I couldn't." She paused as she looked at the sword in his hand. "That is not your weapon. Where did you get that?"

"Found it when I was running from that centipede Grimm." Jaune lifted the blade and looked at it. "I am just grateful that this guy is around and that it is still sharp enough to kill Grimm."

"Hmm~" Pyrrha lifted a finger and lightly touched the black edge of the sword before flinching back in pain. "Ow!"

"Pyrrha?!"

"I am fine. You were not kidding about its sharpness." Pyrrha lifted her hand to reveal a deep cut in her finger, her blood dripping from the wound.

"Oh no, hang on." Without hesitation, Jaune took her hand and brought it to his mouth, sucking on the finger and repeatedly spitting out the blood.

"Erm... Jaune?"

"Hang on Pyrrha, we got to make sure none of the rust gets into the bloodstream." Jaune remembered what happened to one of his younger sisters when she got cut with a rusty piece of fencing, it was a hellish afternoon as she got a high fever and the family scrambled to get a doctor to cure her.

"Erm... I can use my Aura actually?" Pyrrha's words broke his concentration and left him still sucking on her finger.

 _'Huh?'_

Pyrrha slowly pulled her finger from his mouth and showed the light glow of Aura from her closing wound, leaving behind a light bruise and a trail of saliva that came from his mouth.

"My Aura can heal this cut and deal with the rust issue." Pyrrha said softly with a huge blush on her face, "and erm... You can let go now?" Once again, Jaune found himself in another embarrassing situation where he basically took the finger of a girl and sucked it.

' _Now I am glad my uncle is not here, he would certainly use this to great effect on me.'_

"I am so sorry!" Jaune released his hold on her hand and got down on his knees while lowering his head to the ground. "I did not mean to, I just remembered about my little sister getting cut and I just reacted!"

"It... It is okay, Jaune!" Pyrrha stammered as she attempted to calm him down. "It was a good gesture and..." She looked away with another blush. "It was nice."

' _Okay, I am sooooo~ glad none of my elder sisters, my uncle and especially my grandpa are here to see this. They would never let it down.'_

"I see." Jaune got up from the ground and looked around awkwardly, thinking of a topic to dispel the situation. Thankfully she got one.

"So how did you kill the Grimm? Aside from the earlier weakness you told me, I could not get my shots through." Pyrrha asked curiously. Jaune thought for a moment to the part where he saw the weird crimson spots and veins along the body, then recalled the moment when the vision passed and Pyrrha's earlier tussle.

"There were odd indentations and cracks that run along the armor. It seemed to flinch when even a pebble hit them, so I figured it must be sensitive there. I honestly did not think it was that fragile, I barely stabbed the sword in." Jaune answered as he thought of his answer. Best to not let her know about the odd vision he saw.

"I see. That is some good observation." Pyrrha praised him much to his embarrassment. "Good thing this sword was there to help." She motioned to the blade.

"Yeah." Jaune looked at it while shifting it slightly to get better lighting. He paused as his thumb felt something and held the blade differently to look at it. "Huh, this guy has some inscriptions on it."

"What does it say?" Pyrrha got closer to peer at it, unintentionally for him to smell the hint of lavender from her hair. Shaking his head from the random thoughts, he looked at the scripts that was etched in old Valean symbols. He was a little rusty with his translation, but if his lessons with his grandfather were correct, it said...

"Crimson Blitz." The moment the words left his mouth, Jaune could have sworn that the weapon seemingly hummed in response while the hair on the back of his neck stood up lightly. Then for whatever reason, the blade seemed to glow briefly before reconfiguring itself to a form more fitting of his figure with a shorter handle and the blade portion more obvious to him.

"Did it just reset itself?" Pyrrha blinked as she looked at the weapon with narrowed eyes. "Did you find the button to make it compact?"

"I don't think so, I don't see any button on this." Jaune held up the blade and looked around it to find no such item. "Maybe as you said, the sword reset itself. I guess after all these years, the mechanisms must be a little rusty and with that fighting we did, the sword just went to this state. Hopefully this does not happen too much, but I would like my weapons back."

"Hmm~" Pyrrha hummed as she looked around before pausing. "Oh there we go, I think I found it!" She moved to one pile of rocks and shifted some of the looser ones to reveal the familiar guard of Crocea Mors.

"Yes!" Jaune came forward to where she was. "Thank you very much Pyr!" He said as he turned to start removing the rocks from his weapon, thus missing the blushing Pyrrha had from his nickname of her. It took a while but he was able to get it out and inspect it for damage.

"Phew~ glad it is not damaged." Jaune activated the mechanisms and checked it thoroughly. "Gramps would have my head if this got busted."

"Glad you got it back." Pyrrha petted his shoulder before looking to the side. "Well, it would seem that the explosion might have done something better than just trapping the Grimm." She pointed somewhere down the cavern where Jaune could spy a light coming at the end of it. "I think it loosened the rocks enough that they fell off the other side."

"Then let's not waste time." Jaune said as he picked up what looked to be a worn-out sheath and slide the sword through. Surprisingly it fitted rather well and there was a good enough strap for him to sling to his body. That was a bit of good luck to have after the crap he went through.

But he got distracted when Pyrrha's voice called out to him.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha pointed to an area of the cavern with one hand over her mouth, her hand clearly shaking from something that shocked her. With a bit of trepidition, Jaune moved the torch to her to get better lighting to see what it was that made her this way. What he saw stopped him in his tracks.

Before them in the light of the torch, rows upon rows of skeletons lined the walls of the area they were in, each clad in armor and holding on to different types of weaponry. Littered on the ground were more skeletons in similar garb, but with them being strewn all over the area with limbs or heads missing and with gaping holes in armors. The sight seemed to stretched all the way to the opening, giving off the grim impression of a last stand.

"I think we are in a catacomb." Pyrrha looked around them with a hint of fear in her voice. "There are several in Mistral, but I never encountered one of this scale in my life!"

"That's not the only thing." Jaune shone his torch back from where they came, highlighting the broken columns and bricks that were now visible in the light. "I get the feeling that we are in some old city that used to be here before Beacon and got buried beneath all the rocks." Jaune lightly gripped the handle of the sword he had acquired, now feeling the true weight of it. "And if I am not wrong, the city got attacked by the Grimm."

"I think you are right." Pyrrha pointed to some of the more intact skeletons laying on the floor, with armor pierced with the same sharp legs the centipede Grimm had. "We were not the first ones to encounter those creatures. I guess the guards had to fend them off but failed."

"Then..." Jaune unsheathed and raised Crimson Blitz to his eye, peering at the reflection on it. "This is..."

"I am guessing a weapon used by one of the guards." Pyrrha nodded with a solemn expression. Jaune looked to the blade with a new found respect and sorrow, feeling somewhat unworthy to wield this weapon. As if she was reading his thoughts, Pyrrha placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Jaune, I think you should hang on to that for now."

"What?" Jaune looked to her with slight disbelief. "I am not sure if I should take this with me, it belonged to someone else!" He looked back to the weapon with slight discomfort. "I don't feel worthy of this."

"Normally I would advise to put the weapon back where it should be as well, but I believe in this situation, we can make an exception." Pyrrha paused before continuing. "I don't mean to be rude, but currently I feel the sword actually fits you better than Crocea Mors."

"Huh?"

"I mean no offence, but there is a clear difference in the manner you handled both weapons. With Crocea Mors, you seemed to be struggling with both the defense and offense, and your stance is off by a fair bit. I would think you do not have much if no training in that aspect of fighting." Pyrrha said while unintentionally sending arrows into Jaune's already fragile pride and heart. "But with Crimson Blitz, you seem to have some form of control and with that quick thinking of yours, you are able to get the targets quickly. I am guessing your training involved just using a sword and mostly dodging?"

"Well..." Jaune paused as he thought of the few times his grandfather, uncle and his eldest sister tried to train him in various styles, and for the most part it was as she said, not to mention his lack of training and the odd feeling he had when wielding Crimson Blitz, "That is actually pretty accurate. I only started with the shield portion only recently, my grandpa insisted I learned how to dodge attacks first before using a shield."

"I see." Pyrrha nodded lightly. "I believe that for the time being, you should hang on to the weapon. I mean no disrespect to the previous owner, but as it is, Crimson Blitz has no one to wield it, and I would like to think that it would be happy to have someone using it again after so long."

"You really think so?" Jaune asked with a hint of confusion.

"In Mistral, there is a tradition and a bit of superstition that weapons are meant to be used for fighting and to fulfill the last wishes of the user." She motioned with her hand with a solemn expression. "Although they have fought to protect the city, I imagine that they would have some form of regrets. In some parts of Mistral, weapons belonging to some of the old fighters were given to another group if they have both the aptitude and same wishes as the previous users."

"I think for this case, the previous user of that sword would not mind you using it."

Jaune looked at her for a moment before directing his attention back to the sword, looking at his reflection and thinking on her words. He was a little uncertain about taking a weapon from someone, let alone one that had died a few years ago, but he could understand the reasoning for it. Right now he would need whatever edge he could get.

"Okay." He nodded slowly and turned to Pyrrha who was now smiling at him. "Just let me do one thing before we moved on." Handing her the torch, Jaune walked a bit away from her before lightly stabbing the sword into the ground and bowing his head, trying to recall what his grandfather and uncle said for certain events.

"I know not your names, nor of your past, but this I promise. When we finish our tasks, we will alert the academy of your presence so as to grant you a proper resting place and hopefully a true passage to the heavens above. Perhaps I might return this weapon to your comrade, but until then I wish to wield it in his place. It would not mean much to you, but this I swear upon my name as an Arc." Jaune spoke the words while remembering what his grandfather had spoken at his friend's passing before bowing his head lower in respect. After a quiet moment, he raised his head and picked up Crimson Blitz, sheathing it on his back and turned to find Pyrrha also paying her respects to the deceased around them. She opened her eyes and smiled gently at him.

"I think they would appreciate that greatly." Pyrrha said as they walked side by side to the opening. Jaune nodded in silence as he looked at her, and for a brief moment, he thought both Crocea Mors and Crimson Blitz hummed in agreement. And thus they moved on, not realizing of what happened in that one moment they paid their respects to the long forgotten.

If they had stood around for a few more seconds, they would have seen a small ball of light coming from where they came and melding into Crimson Blitz, glowing a light green briefly before dimming.

If they had stood around for a few more seconds, they would have noted some of the other weapons behind them were glowing lightly with an array of colors.

If they had stood around for a few more seconds, they would have seen the skulls of the deceased lightly turning towards Jaune, with an unearthly glow of colors seen through their empty eye sockets.

But they did not do so.

And so, with this one event and action, Jaune had unknowingly altered his fate and that of his future companions.

But that would be for later. Right now, Jaune had an initiation to complete.

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Hello there, as promised to those who followed, this one-shot is going to be made into a full-fledged story! Thanks for those who came over, and welcome to those who are currently seeing this for the first time. I hope you enjoy this idea that was proposed by dracohalo117 as a challenge, and that if you like it, you would come back for more.

And I put my pen down for now.


	2. Burning Blitzkrieg

**Disclaimer:**

The works of Rooster-Teeth and their characters are their own and that of the mighty Oum. The only thing I own are the one-shot ideas that popped into my head and whatever OCs I would create for them. This is a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, flames will be ignored. Any references to characters in real-life or fiction are purely coincidental. If I could make money out of my ideas, it would be nice...

Oum Damn It!

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 **Date Published: 19th September 2017**

 **Updated On: 21st November 2018**

 **Chapter Title: Burning Blitzkrieg**

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It took a while to get to the opening and widened it enough to squeeze through, but once they were able to move past that obstacle, Jaune and Pyrrha were pleased to see that their near-death experience was actually a fortune in disguise as the weather had cleared up and they spotted their true objective just a few feet away from them. They looked at each other with a smile before making their way to the temple in question.

"Well this is a welcome change." Pyrrha spoke as they broke through the ring of trees and started to walk to the ruins.

"No kidding, I could use some relaxation after that craziness in the cavern." Jaune nodded as he adjusted the two swords on his body. It was odd really; while Crocea Mors felt alien to him, the other blade was strangely familiar and comfortable, as though he had been carrying it with him his entire life. Maybe it was some sub-conscious thinking on his part, likely due to the fight he had with the Grimm earlier, but he felt that this was a weapon he could get used to faster despite it being another sword.

He would have to think about it later.

"Hey there, Jauney!" Jaune's thoughts were interrupted as he heard a familiar voice. He turned to find the blond bombshell waving at him while a black-haired girl who he presumed to be her partner stood a little away from her. "Missed me?"

"Hey Yang!" Jaune called out to her while waving his arm. It did not take long for the two of them to walk up to her who proceeded to step forward and slung an arm around his neck, using the other to mess up his hair with a cheeky grin.

"Looks like someone went through the blender, you must have fought your hardest?" She spoke cheerfully, but Jaune could tell with his years of talking to his sisters that there was a light tone of concern hidden beneath her bravado and there was something akin to worry in her lilac eyes as she looked at some of the blood and tears.

"We got into a spot of trouble on the way and it was quite a hassle." Jaune lightly tapped her arm awkwardly in his position, not wanting to accidentally touch her inappropriately. "But we came out on top and the best part was the shortcut we ended up taking to get here.

"Lucky you, I am guessing that you were able to get out of the storm earlier." Yang released him, her eyes now shining without concern. "We got held up and had to make a pit-stop for the rain to clear. You two just got here within a few minutes of us arriving."

"It did not help with Ursas and Beowolves after us." The black-haired girl spoke for the first time, her amber and oddly cat-like eyes looking at them closely while gesturing at Yang. "One of them cut her hair a bit and she sent it flying into the pack with one punch before going to town on them."

"That monster ruined my beautiful hair!" Yang cradled her hair like she was handling fine china while growling. "That thing was lucky that I could not use my more explosive rounds or it would be a huge smear on the ground!" Jaune found himself slightly pitying the Grimm she encountered, remembering the times his sisters reacted badly when their hair got stained or cut roughly. Especially his eldest sister Marianne, whom threw such a fit when her hair got cut drastically short by an Ursa during one of her trips, she saw it fitting that she should decimate the entire forest worth of Grimm, and she was extremely thorough in her execution.

Atlas had wanted to reward her generously by offering triple her pay. Her only request was for a beauty parlor to fix her hair, and that took a while to find one that could cater to her needs.

"Erm, Jaune?" Jaune turned to face Pyrrha who looked a little out of her element with their conversation. Jaune smacked his head at forgetting about his partner and set about righting it.

"Sorry Pyrrha, I got carried away there." He motioned his hand at her while turning to Yang and her partner. "My name is Jaune Arc, and this is my partner, Pyrrha Nikos. She's… apparently someone famous?" Jaune turned to her with a confused expression to which she responded with a good-natured smile and chuckle. She still could not believe her luck that she would be able to find someone who only knew her by the god-awful cereal she helped to promote, and she was ever so grateful that he did not care about her achievements.

"Hey there, the name is Yang Xiao Long. Ass-kicking extraordinaire and all-round beauty!" Yang spread her arms with a wide smile before gesturing to the dark themed girl. "And this quiet gal is my partner, Blake Belladonna."

"If you want to stay partners, I would suggest getting your relics over there." Blake did not acknowledge the introduction and merely pointed to the patio where Jaune spied several chess pieces on an old chessboard. "I suspect they will determine both your partnership and your teammates."

"Oh I see. Thank you for your advice Blake." Jaune nodded before the two of them made their way to the relics, pausing briefly to pat Yang on the shoulder lightly at seeing her pout at Blake for ruining her introduction. The blond girl looked at him briefly before dropping the pout and smiling again. They did not take long to pick since Pyrrha was fine with whatever he would take so he choose the 'Rook' piece, noting a few other chess pieces were missing. Guess they were not the first ones to appear.

"So, this is Miss Pumpkin Pete in the flesh huh?" Yang looked at Pyrrha as she walked around her with a cursory eye. "I must admit, you are a lot taller than what I was told."

"Erm, thank you?" Pyrrha raised an eyebrow, not knowing if she was being complemented.

"Hmmm~" Yang looked back at Jaune with a smirk that resembled that of his older sisters when they were about to pull a teasing frenzy "She is quite the looker. Are you planning to upgrade from my sister and I to Pyrrha here? Jauney, I thought we were good friends."

Jaune blushed lightly from her words but had the perfect comeback to that. "We are good friends Yang, and quite frankly, I find it hard to believe that anyone can upgrade from you, considering your looks and all." To his partial satisfaction, Yang blushed lightly with Pyrrha following suit with a heavier blush from his corny words, while Blake had the faintest smirk of amusement at the sight of her partner.

"Oh~ Lover boy has a quick tongue huh?" Yang looked back with a smirk. "Well then, be prepared for war, because I will make sure to leave you 'Yanging' for more." At her attempt of making a pun, Blake palmed her face while shaking her head and muttering something about being stuck with a failed comedian, Pyrrha looked at the two with an odd expression, while Jaune...

 _'SNORT!'_

The girls turned to look at Jaune who covered his mouth to stifle the chuckle that was emitting from his mouth. "Sorry, it was not a good pun, but it is a decent attempt." Jaune struggled to control the laughter that wanted to come out of his mouth. Blake and Pyrrha looked at him with disbelief while Yang looked like Christmas came early.

"You laughed at my pun?" She asked in a slightly hopeful tone. When Jaune nodded his head after containing his laughter, Yang pumped her arms in the air while doing a rather cute victory dance.

"YES~ I finally got someone to laugh at my puns!" She cheered while the other two females looked at her with raised eyebrows. A roar stopped her little celebration and directed their attention to an Ursa that burst out of the tree-line and fell down flat on the ground, looking every bit tired and if possible, having an expression that said it was _fricking_ done with whatever situation it got itself into. That much was apparent when a ginger-haired girl with a white top and pink combat skirt with what looked to be a large grenade launcher strapped to her back popped up from behind and looked at the Ursa with an expression akin to a kid whose toy got broken.

"Aww~ It broke~" The girl podded the Ursa with her finger while looking a little sad. The bush shuffled from behind before another person came out looking extremely worn out. He was a male teenager who gave the impression of being a quiet monk from the temples of Mistral with his long dark hair tied into a long and messy ponytail with a pink streak down the left side of his hair, a green long-sleeved tailcoat and plain tan pants. He certainly gave the feeling of being some sort of martial artist if not for the perpetual look of exhaustion on his face.

"Nora, please... Don't do that again." He panted while resting a hand against the beast. When he did not get a reply, he looked up to find that she had somehow teleported herself to the relics where she looked at them with wide eyes, before grabbing another 'Rook' piece and started to do a dance while singing about how she was the queen of the castle.

"Did she just ride an Ursa all the way here?" Blake asked with disbelief in her voice as she watched the girl somehow playing with the piece while balancing her weapon at the same time, occasionally shifting it into its secondary form that took on a huge hammer.

' _By the gods, she is going to be a handful!'_ Jaune thought as he watched the girl that he recognized as the one he met during breakfast return to Ren with another one of the pieces. Pyrrha seemed to agree with his thoughts as she edged closer to whisper "You do know that she has the same piece as us, right?"

"… We can make it work?" Jaune looked at her with a dubious expression while Yang came along and put a hand on their shoulders.

"Good luck." Yang said with a solemn expression that was marred with a smirk on her face. Jaune could only answer by palming his face and letting out a sigh.

"Do you guys hear something?" Blake interrupted their talk while frowning and looking around the area. "It sounded like someone is screaming from far away."

"I don't hear anything." Pyrrha looked around their side.

"It sounds like it is coming from... above..." Blake looked up before her eyes widened with her mouth wide open. Jaune and Pyrrha looked up at the same time and gasped at the sight of Ruby falling from the sky and at a very fast rate.

"LOOK OUT BELOW!" Ruby yelled as her arms flayed about trying to slow her descent to the ground.

"Ruby!" The moment Jaune yelled, something seemed to shift in his vision. One moment he was looking at Ruby falling from the clear blue sky, the next he found himself looking at a pale woman with a blood-stained dress and falling through a dark sky ridden with thunder and rain. His feet moved automatically to propel him forward, arms stretched out to catch the woman before she hit the ground. With a yell, he jumped forward to get the necessary momentum to catch her in time, rolling his body to cushion her with it and hitting his head against the tree in the process.

"Jaune!" Ears ringing and blurred vision, Jaune shook his head to rid himself of the stars blocking his sight and found himself cradling a dazed Ruby in her arms. Jaune looked around while wincing from the pain, wondering what happened to the woman he saw.

"Jaune, are you okay?" His thoughts were broken when Pyrrha came forward with Yang following suit, expressions of concern and fright apparent on both their faces. Jaune slowly released his hold on Ruby who seemed to have regain her bearings and was now blushing heavily from the contact. She was soon swept into Yang's arms and hugged tightly by the sister who checked her body for any wounds, while Pyrrha knelt down next to him to inspect him.

"That is a nasty bump you are sporting, but it seems you don't have any major wounds." Pyrrha looked at his head while gingering touching the part that made contact with the tree, withdrawing her hand when Jaune let out a pained hiss. "Sorry!"

"It's okay, it stings a little. That's all." Jaune used the tree to get up slowly while cradling his head. "I think that hit was a lot harder than I thought, I am seeing double right now."

"I am so sorry, Jaune!" Ruby managed to extradite herself from Yang's tight hold and was now bowing her head many times as she sported an ashamed expression.

"It is fine, but mind telling us why you fell out of the sky at what, a couple of hundred feet?" Jaune paused as a new thought came through his mind. "Wait, where is your partner?"

"Erm..." Ruby slowly lifted her finger at the sky while looking embarrassed. The whole lot of them, including Nora and Ren who came to us during his saving of Ruby, looked up to find the white-haired girl hanging off what had to be the biggest Nevermore he ever laid his eyes on.

"How could you leave me?!" The girl screamed loudly, her words barely heard from their end.

"I said jump, Weiss!" Ruby called out to her.

"You do know she is going to fall, don't you?" Blake commented from her side.

"She'll be fine." Ruby said that with a not so convincing smile of assurance.

"She is falling." Ren spoke in the flattest tone possible as they watched the heiress dropping from the Nevermore and towards a certain doom. And for the second time in the row, Jaune saw another vision of a person falling through dark skies, this time a younger girl dressed in rags with a stake through her heart. Without realizing it, his body moved once more to get to the figure and he managed to catch her without getting himself hurt.

And immediately after that, his vision cleared to reveal a blushing Weiss in his arms.

 _'Okay, that was weird.'_ Jaune thought as he absentmindedly went through the motions of letting Weiss leave his arms and nodding at her weak attempt at thanking him. He hoped he did not catch something in the caves that was making him see things.

"Well look at you, Lady Killer~ catching girls in the air and all." Yang had that predatory smile of teasing as she walked to him. "You sure know how to make them _fall_ for you, huh?"

"Please tell me your sister is just in the mood for a bad pun fest, and that this will be temporary?" Blake looked to Ruby with a pleading expression with desperation in her eyes. Her hopes were dashed as Ruby shook her head in despondence, while Weiss massaged the bridge of her nose and muttering something about dumb blondes.

 _'SNORT!'_ Jaune did not help matters by suppressing another bit of laughter that seemed to encourage Yang to try another pun, while the remaining three looked at the group with a weird eye.

The sounds of trees crashing to the ground stopped the merriment and drew their attention to the tree-line, the sight of which made Jaune and Pyrrha groaned in annoyance. Hissing in agitation, a small legion of centipede Grimm spread themselves around the area, theirs eyes looking at them with both hate and hunger.

"Friends of yours?" Yang asked as she primed her gauntlets.

"More like stalkers." Jaune took Crocea Mors and held them nervously.

"Then what about that one?" Blake pointed at what had to be the biggest Death Stalker one would ever lay eyes on coming from behind the arthropod Grimm, his pincers snapping loudly alongside its mandibles while the tail stood tall with its golden barb shining brightly in the sun. Jaune blinked before looking to Pyrrha, the both of them likely thinking and dreading the same thing.

 _'Damn, maybe it was a good thing the ground gave way before fighting that thing!'_

"Erm, guys?" Ruby raised her hand to point at the Nevermore who had returned and was now hovering above them, its screeching loud enough for them to hear and seemingly rally the other Grimm to attack.

"Great, now we can all die together!" Yang threw her arms in exasperation. Jaune turned to comment when he saw Ruby tensing up and hunching towards the arthropods and the Death Stalker, clearly wanting to charge ahead at them. Once again, Jaune saw another vision appear before him, revealing a young boy in torn shorts carrying a spear and wanting to charge at a group of soldiers that clearly outclassed him in equipment and skill, with a bunch of bodies lying around them. At the sight of the boy taking the first step, Jaune reached out and grabbed hold of the collar, that action seemingly removing the vision to show that he managed to catch Ruby before she could run after them.

"OW! Jaune, why did you stop me?!" Ruby looked to him with a cute pout of defiance only to recoil slightly from the cold fury on his face.

"May I ask what the hell are you thinking? Trying to charge at them on your own, are you bloody nuts?!" Jaune admonished her while maintaining a firm hold on her cloak, feeling an odd amount of righteous anger in him. Weiss who was closer nodded in agreement.

"Indeed, what were you thinking, trying to show off like that?" Weiss scoffed while looking at her.

"I am not trying to show off, I just want to prove to you that I can do this!" Ruby whined but stopped moving.

"Well that is a very childish thought you have." Weiss scolded her before taking a deep breath. "But I suppose I can be a bit..." She turned to look at Jaune with a slightly uncomfortable expression, likely remembering their first interaction, "difficult at times, so I will try to be nicer."

"Thank you!" Ruby cheered as Jaune lowered her down now comfortable that she would not run off alone and not feeling that odd fury anymore. Yang gave him an appreciative nod for stopping her sister before looking to the others. "So, what now?"

"We got what we came for, so I would suggest moving back to the cliff without having to engage the Grimm." Weiss gave her idea while Ruby went to collect their pieces.

"Yeah~ I don't think they will let us go." Yang used her thumb to point at the centipede Grimm.

"Then we need to divide and conquer." Jaune gave a quick glance noting their equipment and evaluating what he knew. "Okay, I have something of a plan. Pyrrha and I had fought those creatures earlier so we know their weak-spots. You two." He pointed at Ren and Nora, "come with us so that we can clear them out quickly. You girls deal with the Nevermore, you have both mobility and firepower."

"And how about that one?" Blake pointed at the big Death Stalker who unlike the other Grimm in the area was actually looking at them calmly with an unsettlingly steady gaze. But for whatever reason, Jaune felt that the Death Stalker was actually staring at _him_ , its pincers moving in time with his body movements as though it was anticipating his next move. It did not react to the others when they were gesturing and it was staying still unnaturally.

"Call it a gut feeling. It won't attack us until we are done with our respective problems." Jaune said with the others looking at him funny. "Correct me if I am wrong, but the amount of armor it has suggests it is a lot older compared to the others, meaning it is a whole lot more intelligent than them?"

"Yes, though I must say that its armor is a lot thicker than what has been recorded." Weiss agreed with his observation. "Coupled with its size, I can't imagine how old that one must be."

"But that does not mean it won't attack us from the start." Blake argued her point. "Grimm will always look for an opportunity to strike."

"True." Jaune nodded his agreement. "But would you rather we fight them all at once or fight them separately if given the chance?" To this, no one could argue with him.

"Okay, let's go and kick some Grimm Butt!" Ruby raised her weapon enthusiastically. Weiss rolled her eyes but raised her weapon to touch her scythe, while Yang and Nora cheered heavily. Ren merely nodded while Blake looked the least enthused of the lot. Pyrrha looked to Jaune with a smile, which he returned with one that was more of a grimace.

 _'Boy, am I glad mum is not going to see this!'_

"Let's go!" With that the group split up, that action seemingly making the Grimm roar out in a challenging volume and go forth to attack them, with the exception of the Death Stalker that merely took a few steps back before settling down on its legs, its eyes still maintaining contact on Jaune.

Well, at least he got something working for him.

"Pyrrha, see if you can replicate what you did back in the caverns. There should be more material here for you to use. Otherwise do hit and run tactics." Jaune told the spartan who nodded as she moved forward.

"Ren, you and I are providing support for both her and Nora. We would need to make sure they don't get overwhelmed." Ren cocked his guns resolutely.

"Nora, you got that grenade launcher. I need to you to make sure not one of those things get behind us or at the others. Anything that get within two feet of you, you either forced it back or blow it to ashes." Jaune stopped Nora who was about to move ahead. "One last thing. If you really can't shoot them, then do one thing with your hammer." Jaune smiled in a manner that could be a little frightening. "Smash." Nora let loose her own scary smile as she twirled her weapon.

"Understood Fearless Leader!" Nora started to laugh like a mad woman as she began layering on the explosive rounds on the centipede Grimm while Ren covered her using his firearms, occasionally taking a swipe at some of the closer ones with the blades. Jaune himself used his shield to clumsily block the creatures aiming for Pyrrha's back, giving her the chance to shoot them down while occasionally taking one down himself. Thanks to their previous experience, they did not take that much time to kill off the Grimm. It was oddly anticlimactic; they had more issues in the darkness of the catacomb, but out in the open with light and reinforcements, they were taking down double the numbers with a fair bit of ease. Soon enough, the last of the centipede Grimm were eliminated by the generous usage of Nora's secondary weapon form.

"Ah that was nice!" Nora wiped her brow and shouldered her weapon, her smile being an odd sight amongst the decaying corpses of the Grimm and with Grimm blood on one side of her face. "I wonder if we can do that again in the future?"

"I pray not." Ren remarked as he held his knees while panting.

"At least we are able to get rid of them." Pyrrha said as she lightly heaved. "Good thing you found their weaknesses earlier, Jaune. That could have gone worse."

"I guess." Jaune panted as he looked to find Ruby and the others. His worries were not necessary as he watched them take down the Nevermore with a fair bit of ingenuity and madness.

 _'Damn~_ _note to self. Do not get in front of Ruby when she swings that weapon.'_

"Looks like they got it covered." Pyrrha remarked as the others looked at the team, with Ruby barely visible on the cliff edge as she waved her arm. Jaune was about to say something when he saw movement behind Pyrrha.

"Incoming!" Jaune pulled Pyrrha out of the way while bracing himself against his shield just as the Death Stalker struck with its pincer, lifting him off his feet and sending him hurtling back a few feet.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha tried to get to him only to be repelled by the Grimm that used its tail to create a huge gorge in the ground, followed shortly by a few rock piles made by its pincers. Seemingly satisfied that the other three won't interrupt, it turned back to focus its attention at Jaune who just got back on his feet unsteadily.

 _'Great, just what I needed. As if a bunch of acid bugs were not enough!'_ Jaune groaned in his head as he lifted his sword and shield. He had hoped that he was wrong about the Death Stalker's motives, but this attack proved it. For whatever reason, the creature was after him specifically.

Bummer.

Jaune started running to get the Death Stalker to follow him and leave the others alone, hoping to get more cover against it. To his relief and frustration, the Grimm made to chase him, clearly choosing to go after him rather than the others. At least this would give the others time to regroup and think of a plan to help him out, or in the worst case, they can leave to get help.

"Come on ugly, this way!" Jaune called out as he made his way to a deeper section of the ruins, using the cover to avoid strikes from the pincers or the stinger. He took cover at one of bigger columns and waited for the creature to move past him, using the moment to assess the situation.

 _'Okay, this guy has some thick armor, big ass pincers and a stinger that makes me look punier_ _than I need reminders of! I am going to need a way to distract it_ _long enough for the others to get here or at least bring help.'_

"Jaune!"

 _'Nevermind.'_

Jaune turned to find Pyrrha, Ren and Nora running to his side, stopping for a brief moment as they took cover from the Death Stalker that turned around to find them, paused for a moment before continuing its quest to end his life.

"Jaune, are you okay?!" Pyrrha went to him and gave him a quick look over to check for wounds.

"I am fine, but this guy is very persistent." Jaune answered her while looking around the column to check for the creature.

"This is going to be so much fun!" Nora cheered while waving her weapon, looking like she had no worries to plague her even with the current situation they were in. "Let's break some Grimm's legs, Jaune-Jaune!"

"Nora." Ren palmed his face while shaking his head.

"Well, I am getting tired of being chased around." Jaune looked at the Grimm one more time before coming up with a plan. "Okay, I got a crazy idea. Pyrrha, think you could take out its eyes? We just need to get its field of vision removed a bit. Nora, you and I would need to run interference to keep it busy. Aim for the legs. Ren, see if you can take out that stinger."

"Oh yeah, this is happening!" Nora let out a maniacal laugh as she took out her grenade launcher and started to dish out multiple explosions at the Death Stalker, which was understandably stunned by the suddenness of the attack. Jaune came close and started to hack at the legs as best as he could, thanking the blacksmith who made Crocea Mors for its sharpness and toughness as he was able to cut deep into the joints of the legs while his shield blocked the hard strikes of the legs. Pyrrha proved herself to be an expert marksman as she took aim and meticulously took out the eyes without missing a shot, while Ren used his dual pistols to lay down both cover fire and tried to take down the stinger.

After a few rounds of this and one underhanded strike by Nora which broke the armor and left a huge opening at the top, the Death Stalker clearly had enough of their attacks, using its stinger to slam against Nora, sending her flying away quite a distance.

"Nora!" Ren called out in concern before directing angry eyes at the Grimm. Letting out a brief roar of rage, Ren jumped onto one of its legs, skipped on its body and proceeded to unload all of his ammunition on the offending appendage, making the Grimm hiss in pain as it tried to shake him off. It succeeded in getting him off, but the damage was done with the stinger hanging by its tendon.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune called out to her while pointing at the Grimm. She got the idea and threw Akouo at the tail, bisecting the stinger and making it land on the opening of the armor, making the Death Stalker roar out in agony.

"Right then, Nora! Nail it!" Jaune called out feeling the plan was a success, but when he did not get a reply he turned to find Nora knocked too far away from them and looking unsteady on her feet. "Oh no~"

"Jaune, watch out!" Pyrrha's warning brought his attention to the front, barely giving him time to raise his shield as the Grimm came barreling straight for him, its eyes now showing deep rage at all the pain and wanting to eliminate them all. With a roar, the creature lifted him off his feet and sent through the wall, making him lose some of the Aura and his weapons as he crashed to the ground.

 _'Crap!'_ Jaune scrambled to get to his shield but the Death Stalker had other ideas as it used its pincer to crack the ground and forced it upwards to separate him from the shield. With another roar, it swung the other pincer at Jaune, forcing him to take the full blunt of the attack.

"GARH!" Jaune let out a scream as his body was immediately assaulted with the feeling of pain rushing through his limbs and back. A brief flash of light and the sound of something breaking was enough to tell him that something was very wrong.

"Watch out!" He felt his collar getting pulled in the nick of time as the Death Stalker jabbed a pincer where he was a few seconds, creating a deep crater and some cracks in the ground. Jaune did not have much time to contemplate when Ren placed an arm around him and dragged him to deeper cover.

"Sorry for the rough treatment, but I had to get you out of the way before you resemble one of Nora's pancake disasters." Ren remarked while propping Jaune against the wall and examining the wounds. "Okay we have a problem."

"How bad is it?" Jaune winced from the pain shooting through his body.

"Well I can tell you that your least lethal injury is a broken rib." Ren quipped as he lightly prodded Jaune's body. "But the main issue right now is that your Aura has broken, so you are now vulnerable. You will need to take a back seat and let us handle this."

"That would be nice, but I think I might have some bad news on that part." Jaune gritted his teeth as he got into a better position. "For whatever reason, that creature has been after me since the beginning. If this was me being weak, I might understand a bit, but even with you guys hammering it with ammo and Nora's attacks, that Grimm keeps on chasing me."

"That I can agree with you. I have never seen a Grimm this determined for one person." Ren nodded with a grim frown.

"That however is something that we can use to our advantage." Jaune said much to Ren's confusion. "That guy is after me so much that it is ignoring the rest of you guys. And with Ruby and the others coming for us, we would have more firepower. I just need to hang on a little longer for them to arrive to help lay this creature down."

"That is a risky move and you know it." Ren narrowed his eyes at Jaune. "Even if the amount of Aura you have left can heal your wounds enough to allow mobility around the area, you won't last much longer against a Death Stalker of that size. And how much can you do without a weapon?"

"The Grimm has a hard time turning into corners, so it ends up smashing into the ruins around here. Enough of the rubble should be able to drive that stinger deeper into its back enough to force it to go slower, thus giving you guys more time." Jaune motioned to Crimson Blitz still sheathed on his back. "And I am not defenseless, I still got this guy with me." Ren was about to argue when the telltale sounds of the Death Stalker stomping came from their side, making them turn around and paled at the sight of a rampaging Death Stalker coming at them with thunderous steps.

"No time to argue, move!" Jaune pushed Ren out of the way and into relative safety before getting up to his feet and started to run as best he could with his injuries. More than ever he thanked Pyrrha in his mind for unlocking his Aura because he was going to need every bit of it.

"Time to use you again, Crimson Blitz." Jaune grabbed the sword and pulled it out of the sheath, its black edge gleaming in the sunlight and for a brief moment, he felt it vibrating slightly as though it was happy to be out in the open again.

He did not have time to think about it as the Death Stalker let out another roar and sped up as though his action of drawing the sword was a challenge that it wanted to answer. Well at least he got its attention.

"Come on ugly!" Jaune turned around to face the Grimm and once again, his vision shifted to show what looked to be a smaller version of it with bigger pincers trying to attack him in what appeared to be in a dark forest. Without a thought Jaune swung the blade in time to block the pincer aimed at him and redirected it to the ground, making him falter slightly but kept his footing to deliver a quick slice at the creature's face. Much to his surprise, the blade cut through the thick shell easily, making it bleed black blood and the creature to hiss in pain and move away slightly.

 _'Whoa, this sword is a lot sharper than I thought!'_ Jaune's thoughts were put on hold as the Grimm let out another roar and started to swing its pincers at him randomly, forcing him to dodge and parry them in quick succession. But a part of his mind could not help but gawked at the oddly smooth if not clumsy manner he could maneuver around them. He had trouble dodging his uncle's simple thrusts and his sister's jabs, yet he was easily moving around the Grimm like a ballerina and he could not help wondering what was doing this. Was it simply adrenaline, the fear of being killed?

Or was it due to the odd visions that was overlapping with his sight, making him move more effectively? If so, why was he having them now?

"Bang!"

His thoughts and little dance off got interrupted when a gunshot rang out in the open, followed shortly by a small explosion that hit the Death Stalker in the side. Then a giant wall of ice sprouted up from the ground in front of him, separating him from the Grimm.

"Get moving!" Jaune heard Weiss's voice and instantly turned to run towards the general direction of the voice, find her near the stone bridge with her weapon stabbed into the ground with a spinning symbol of a snow flake under her. By her sides, Yang and Blake stood with their weapons primed and eyes keeping watch at the ice barrier that was cracking.

"Hey there Lady Killer!" Yang momentarily broke her attention to focus on him. "Looks like you got quite the catch, a giant Death Stalker that wants your ass."

"That is putting it lightly." Jaune wheezed and spat out some blood as the injuries started to catch up to him. "I demand a refund, I did not ask for a damn Death Stalker on my ass."

"Okay, I think you can leave this to us." Yang said in a cheerful tone that barely hid her concern over him as she looked at his wounds. "Mama Yang is going to lay the smack down on this bad boy."

"There is a giant stinger at the top of the head, we got it cut off and stuck in a hole of its armor. But we need to jam it in harder to kill it." Jaune quickly informed them before they moved on.

"Oh~ jam it in harder, huh?" Yang had that light in her eye that made him wary. "I will make sure to jam it in so hard, that Grimm will be shouting my name in ecstasy and pain!" With that line, she ran off leaving him red-faced and one Blake Belladonna who looked on with a flat expression.

"Just so you know, I blame you for encouraging her puns and general attitude." Blake remarked with a flat tone before running after Yang. Jaune could only go redder in the face and lower his face into his hands in deep embarrassment.

"Jaune!" Ruby came to his side and looked at him. "Are you okay? You looked like you have a fever."

"Hey Ruby." Jaune sighed as he looked up in time to see Pyrrha and the other two come to their side. "I am just very burned out, in need of rest, and not prepared for your sister's choice of words."

"Ah~ I feel for you." Ruby nodded with a slightly sympathetic expression.

"Nora, how are you?" Jaune turned to the bubbly girl, remembering the hit she took.

"Forget me, you looked like crap!" Nora exclaimed while looking over his body at the wounds he got. "How are you standing?!"

"Right now, pure adrenaline." Jaune answered while wincing at the pain. Now that he had stopped moving, the pain started to mount and he was having trouble to maintain his vision.

"Better hang on a little more, we would need whatever help we can get." Ren raised his hand to interrupt the obvious counter about to be made by Pyrrha and Ruby. "Jaune will stay back and relay whatever information to help us slay the Death Stalker. His earlier plan was a little rough but definitely better than whatever we can think of. With more of us and it being injured, it should not take us long to take it down."

"If you guys are done talking, now would be a good time to get into the game!" Weiss yelled as the ice barrier broke apart to reveal a very angry Death Stalker. The others took up their arms and leapt forward to engage it, leaving Jaune to look at them while feeling his limbs getting heavier. At least they got this covered, but there was a part of him that felt a little left out.

 _'Don't go there, Jaune. Remember what Uncle Ben said about this, it is fine to act a hero, but stupid if I rushed into a situation without understanding how to survive.'_ Jaune thought to himself as he watched the others struggle with the Death Stalker. _'For now, focus on weaknesses.'_

With that, he looked at the Grimm and saw the manner it was favoring certain portions of its body. "Guys, aim for the legs, stop it from moving so that Yang and Nora can deal out the heavy attacks!" He called out to them as they got closer. Pyrrha and Ren immediately followed the plan while Ruby relayed the information to the others. Weiss spun the revolving chamber on her weapon and rushed forward to stab it into one of the legs, turning it into ice and shattering it, while Ruby started to spin around to start hacking at one of the others. On the other side, Blake, Pyrrha and Ren joined forces to tackle the legs on their side, hacking away as best they could through the thick armor. Yang and Nora covered for both sides by using their heavy attacks to distract the Death Stalker while weakening it.

But the Death Stalker would not give in and soon learnt how to avoid some of the attacks and pushing back the others. From his end, Jaune could see how tired the others were getting, and how Nora and Yang was forced to conserve their ammo due to the armor.

 _'They still need help.'_ With that and a silent apology to his uncle for disobeying his words, Jaune gritted his teeth and rushed forward, bringing Crimson Blitz to the side and with its sharp edge scrapping the ground. With a yell, he went between the gap of Blake and Pyrrha, using his momentum to jump and slide on the ground beneath the Grimm before bringing the sword up, its sharp edge ensuring a clean cut as he glided across the ground all the way to the other end, making the Grimm roar in pain and more importantly, giving Yang and Nora a chance to properly lay on the heavy hits that crippled the legs.

"Pyrrha, boost Nora up!" Jaune yelled out. Pyrrha and Nora looked at each other and nodded, leaving Yang to continue hitting it with her shotgun gauntlets. Pyrrha lifted her shield and braced herself on the ground as Nora jumped onto it and used one of her grenades to propel herself up into the air.

"Bring it home, Nora!"

"Got it!" Nora spun her body a few times in the air while holding on to her hammer. With a jubilant roar, she smashed the hammer dead center of the stinger, driving it deeply through the armor and into the head, causing the Grimm to buckle under the force. It struggled for a bit before laying still.

"YES!" Yang and Ruby cheered with their arms up high, being the most excitable of the lot, while Blake and Weiss let out tired sighs of relief. Ren simply dropped to his butt and laid down on the floor while Pyrrha let her arms dropped to the side and let out her own sigh of tiredness.

"Hah~ that was refreshing!" Nora leapt off the Grimm and made her way to them. "Let's do that again!" Jaune was about to throw in a comment when he spied the tail twitching slightly and one of the Death Stalker's eyes glowing a bright red. Without realizing it, his body moved quickly and grabbed Nora before throwing her to the side.

"What the?!" Nora was momentarily speechless as she watched the Grimm she just smashed got back up and backhanded Jaune, sending him flying into the air and well away from them. Before she and the others could react, the Grimm smashed its pincer into the bridge, making the already unstable ruin crumble and collapse under them.

"We got to move now!" Weiss called out while grabbing Blake by the arm and pulling her up.

"But what about Jaune?!" Pyrrha tried to move towards him but got hindered by Ren and Nora.

"We can't help him if we don't get off this bridge!" Ren pulled her arm with Nora pulling the other, almost lifting her off her feet. "As it is, we need to get away from here this instance!"

"Jaune!" Ruby called out while Yang grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her over her shoulder, before running with the rest to escape the crumbling portions of the bridge. It did not take long for them to get to the other side at the same time as the bridge that finished crumbling and thus leaving a chasm between them and their comrade who was stuck with a Death Stalker hellbent on killing him.

 _'God, this is such a crappy way to die.'_ Jaune groaned as he got to his feet unsteadily, glaring at the Death Stalker that was currently at the edge of the cliff. He was not given enough respite as the Grimm charged at him with all the energy of a wounded animal on its last legs, forcing him to dodge to the side and let it continue to the forest which it laid waste to a fair bit before coming to a slow stop. With another hiss, it slowly turned to face him, its mandibles clicking quickly and its pincers snapping loudly.

 _'Man, if this is how I am to go, this would be one hell of a story.'_ Jaune thought wistfully as he used the sword to pick himself up from the ground, wobbling lightly from the dizziness and loss of blood. His heart nearly stopped when his eyes cleared enough to show that he was at the cliff's edge, and there was no room to move elsewhere.

 _'Darn it, I really need something.'_ Jaune gripped the handle tightly and lifted the sword with heavy arms, pointing it at the Grimm in defiance. _'Good thing the others are on the other side. It does mean much, but at least they can stay alive and perhaps make a better difference to the world than me.'_

In his worsening sight, Jaune looked at Crimson Blitz in his hands, the dark edge gleaming in the sun, and could not help a random thought. _'Wonder if the previous owner had to deal with this in the past?'_

That was when something happened at the same moment as the Death Stalker started to move forward.

Visions of battlefields and unknown lands shot through his mind, almost blinding him to a standstill and making his head ache like a jackhammer going full throttle on him. His body felt like it was now on fire and the only reason he could not yell out in pain was the sight of a figure before him wielding the same weapon as him, his body hunched down and riddled with wounds and bleeding out. Before him was the same type of Grimm facing him as well, and just like Jaune, the figure was in a similar position of helplessness.

 _ **["So**_ _**this is it for me?"]**_ A voice echoed in Jaune's head as the figure seemed to chuckle at the situation. _**["At least the others are safe.**_ _**I should be the only one to fall,**_ _**being the weaker one of the lot.**_ _**They can make a bigger difference than me."]**_ The figure spat out some blood as he coughed heavily before taking a few deep breaths to calm himself.

 _ **["Well then, it is just you and me."]**_ The figure looked up to reveal a rather youthful face in his early twenties with blonde hair and startling blue eyes, with a trail of blood from the corner of his mouth. The figure picked up his blade in a similar manner as him and glared at the Death Stalker.

 _ **["Let's do this buddy, one last time."]**_

Seemingly out of his control, his arms lowered the sword and moved it to the side, giving it room for the sword to reconfigured itself back to its old form with loud mechanical sounds while crimson lightning started to spark all over its body. Unknown to everyone, one of Jaune's eyes started to change color from a bright blue to an almost radiant white while his hair started to pale at the fringes. He stood before the oncoming Grimm with a defiant glare, not moving an inch and waiting for it to come close.

"Jaune, move!" Pyrrha called out to him as she tried to use her polarity to move him to no avail.

"What is that dunce doing?! He is going to get killed at this rate!" Weiss demanded while looking both angry and concerned for Jaune.

"Jaune!" Yang yelled out as the Grimm got closer, its pincers ready to grab and tear him into pieces. Just a few feet separated the two when Jaune finally made his move. He raised the sword with both hands, the crimson lightning now visible from where they stood and breaking the ground around him. Even with the distance between them, the others could almost feel the amount of energy that was building from the weapon. Then with a defiant roar, Jaune swung the sword down.

 _ **"BBOOOOEOEOORRRRRRR!"**_

The resulting attack that came after could only be described with the words 'utter destruction', as the beam of crimson lightning surged forward at the Death Stalker, instantly bisecting it in half before continuing its trajectory behind it all the way to the other side of the forest and sputtering towards the end, leaving behind a long stretch of burned trees, scorched earth and the smoldering remains of a Death Stalker that fell to the ground and split in half.

"Holy..." Weiss let out a word with her eyes wide open.

"Shit..." Yang finished it for her with her mouth wide open.

"By the gods..." Blake muttered while fighting every bit of her instinct to run away from the display of power exhibited by someone she deemed harmless. She did not think she would meet anyone who could be stronger than Adam, but to witness someone utterly wrecking a Death Stalker of that size and a large portion of the forest, she was both dumbfounded and wholeheartedly terrified. She would need to keep an eye out for him.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha rushed forward to him, followed shortly by Nora and Ren, but got overtaken by Ruby who ran at full speed with her Semblance, hoping to get to him quickly in order to make sure her first friend was safe.

As for the person in question?

Jaune panted heavily as he watched the Death Stalker evaporating, his head reeling from the vision he had and his body feeling like he was running on fumes. He was not sure what had happened, but one thing he did note was the fact he took on a Death Stalker on his own, albeit with some help from the others and something else. He looked to the sword in his hands and thought privately as the weapon went back to its previous state.

 _'What the hell are you?'_

Jaune released his hold on the sword and let his body drop to the ground, the tension leaving his body alongside precious lifeblood that dripped from his wounds. As darkness clouded his eyes, he could have sworn that amidst the sounds of his teammates yelling and pounding feet coming his way, someone else was next to him, the voice being too soft to hear properly, yet it seemed to stand out enough for him to hear the words.

 **[Not quite yet. You are not ready for what's to come.]**

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0-0-0-0

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Hello there, here's the second chapter of the one-shot, slightly edited to have better meaning. From here onwards, it will be original chapters, so hope you enjoy it.

And I put my pen down for now.


	3. Welcome to Beacon

**Disclaimer:**

The works of Rooster-Teeth and their characters are their own and that of the mighty Oum. The only thing I own are the one-shot ideas that popped into my head and whatever OCs I would create for them. This is a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, flames will be ignored. Any references to characters in real-life or fiction are purely coincidental. If I could make money out of my ideas, it would be nice...

Oum Damn It!

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 **Date Published: 28th September 2017**

 **Updated On: 21st November 2018**

 **Chapter Title: Welcome to Beacon**

 **0-0-0-0**

 **~~ Scene 1 ~~**

 _"Okay, where am I now?"_ _Jaune blinked as he looked at the dark mist that surrounded him, blocking anything within 2 feet of his sight. The last thing he recalled before falling unconscious was the Death Stalker charging at him, and then there was that weird vision and voice._

 _"Crap, does this I mean I am dead?! I haven't got a chance to get a girlfriend yet!" Jaune grabbed his head and let out a howl of disappointment. Damn it, to die as a virgin at seventeen was so pathetic even for him! He could almost hear his uncle laughing his head off at that!_

 _His thoughts stopped as he listened carefully to the surroundings. Now that he was not moving his hands or head, he could hear joyful laughter in the distance. He looked around to find a clue but only dark mist was before his sight. "Hello, is anyone there?"_

 _The laughter got louder and before Jaune could react, ghostly figures of two children ran past him, totally ignorant of his presence. Then without warning, a bright light appeared from above, blowing away the mist and blinding him to the point of shutting his eyes and using his hands to shield them. It was a few seconds later that Jaune tried to open his eyes, only to find the landscape had changed completely._

 _He found himself on a small hill situated around the countryside of what looked to be in the outskirts of Vale, with small trees decorating different portions of the hill and a small stream that meandered down the hill. Flowers were in full bloom and he could see what appeared to be Dandelion seeds floating in the air, carried gently elsewhere in the breeze. He would have been mesmerized by the scenery if not for the sounds of laughter catching his attention._

 _In the distance, there was a small church that seemed to serve as an orphanage for the children that were currently running around in high spirits, their smiles evident on their faces. Near the doors stood two individuals that looked on with happy faces. Without warning, Jaune got teleported next to them, him yelling out in surprise. He stumbled a little before steadying himself on his feet and looking at them._

 _"Excuse me, do you know where is this place?" Jaune frowned when they did not respond. He reached out to get their attention only to find his hand going through the shoulder of the figure. He let out a yelp and drew his hand back quickly, looking at it with slight disbelief. Slowly and surely, he attempted to touch the shoulder again only for it to fail. With a few deep breaths to steady his mind, he used the chance given to him to look at them up-close._

 _There was a woman with pale skin and long black hair that extended all the way to her hips. She wore a black-zipped vest that appeared to be straining to contain her rather sizable assets, a pair of black shorts that hugged her hips tightly while exposing her long legs for all to see, and dark military boots that paired well with the finger-less gloves she had. She had gentle features that reminded Jaune of Pyrrha in some ways, making him wonder if she was from Mistral._

 _The man next to her was one with pale skin and long spiky hair that made Jaune question if it was natural or intentional with lots of hair gel, and blue eyes that shone with happiness at the children before him. He wore a high collar indigo shirt, black pants and dark boots that appeared to be steel-tipped, over which he had some type of dark robe covering his left leg that extended to his ankles. On his left side, one sole pauldron sat on his shoulder which held the dark cloth covering his entire left arm._

 _But there was something that caught Jaune's eye. Next to them were weapons leaning against the wall, and next to a huge broadsword was one very familiar weapon but in a more pristine condition without rust or age on it._

 _Crimson Blitz._

 _'Why is that guy here?'_

 ** _["So peaceful."]_** _The woman spoke as she lightly pulled back a strand of hair that dangled in front of her eyes._

 ** _["It is."]_** _The man nodded as he waved at one of the children._ ** _["It has been a long time coming, but the war is coming to an end."]_**

 ** _["I suppose so."]_** _The woman let out a melancholy sigh._ ** _["The kids miss you a lot. You almost missed a few birthdays."]_**

 ** _["I know. Not a day goes by without me thinking of them as well."]_** _The man solemnly answered._

 ** _["Could you not stay a little longer?"]_** _The woman turned to him with a pained expression._ ** _["You have done your missions, they should be giving you a longer break. Or for that matter, they should be releasing you by now."]_**

 ** _["I want to, but I can't."]_** _The man shook his head sadly._ ** _["They still need me on the front-lines. Despite our success, Mantle is pushing us too much and the council wants every able soldier available."]_**

 ** _["But they are just trying to save themselves!"]_** _The woman answered in anguish._ ** _["All the council care about is their own selfish goals and they cared less for their people, let alone the children!"]_**

 ** _["What choice do I have?!"]_** _The man remarked with a pained tone._ ** _["They know about the orphanage, and they had tried to enlist the kids here. Hell they wanted to bring Hector into the the army, and he is only eleven! Me enlisting is the only way I can get them to back off because they can't get anyone else with the type of Semblance I have. They also know that if I leave them, there is nothing else holding me back."]_**

 ** _["I hate this."]_** _The woman folded her arms and rubbed her elbows as she looked down in sadness._ ** _["Why won't they leave us alone?"]_** _The man gave a forlorn chuckle._

 ** _["As you said, they are selfish bastards who would rather have the young lead the way and die while they procrastinate and hang on to their miserable fortunes."]_**

 _Jaune winced at the bite evident in that man's words. Whatever was going on, this was not a good conversation they were having._

 ** _["At least promise me one thing."]_** _The woman placed a hand on the man's shoulder._ ** _["Promise me that you will return safely. It is too much for me to ask that you stay unharmed, but I want the kids to be able to see you again. If not for me, do it for them."]_** _With that, she moved away from him and towards the children, calling out to them to gather together. The man could only let out a tired sigh as he watched them._

 ** _["That makes the two of us."]_**

 _Jaune was looking at the two, wondering how he could leave this odd place when the landscape changed rapidly, returning to the dark mist that he started out from, only to have the man stay with him. As Jaune tried to figure out what was going on, the man turned to face him with a steady gaze and spoke._

 ** _["It's time for you to wake up_** ** _, my host_** ** _."]_**

 **~~ Scene 2 ~~**

The first thing Jaune saw when he opened his eyes was the ceiling that was bathed in what appeared to be the last lights of the sun as it set over the tree-line. Turning his head lightly to one side, he saw his left arm had one of those IV tubes that was connected to a water bag to give him fluids. Next to that, there was that heart monitor that showed his steady heartbeats and that odd item that he briefly remembered from the movies as some sort of blood pressure monitor. A little further down, he recognized some of the other initiates from earlier, each sporting some bandages on their limbs or head. But then he noted that they were behind a glass door, and judging from the injuries, they were likely in intensive care.

"Where am I?" Jaune coughed as he mumbled to himself.

"Currently in the medical wing of Beacon." Jaune nearly felt the bones in his neck pop as he turned quickly to face the headmaster who was seated on his right and looking slightly amused at his reaction. "It has been 4 hours since your entry, Mr Arc. And I have to say, you are the first one to wake up from your ordeal in initiation this quickly. Others normally need a full day, maybe two at the worst."

"Professor Ozpin! COGH!" Jaune sputtered before starting to cough again, his throat feeling abnormally dry. As he tried to look around for some water, a cup of that appeared before him.

"Better drink up." Ozpin smiled gently. Jaune nodded his thanks while taking huge gulps of it, letting out a relieved sigh at the end. "Better?"

"Yes, very much." Jaune paused as some of his memory returned in full force. "Crap, Pyrrha and the others!"

"They are fine, Mr Arc." Ozpin raised a hand to stop him from panicking as indicated by the rapid heartbeats. "They are exhausted and a little low on Aura. Miss Belladonna, Miss Schnee and Miss Valkyrie are sporting some minor injuries, but none are life-threatening."

"Thank goodness." Jaune sunk his head back into the pillow. "Well it makes sense they won't get hurt so easily, they are definitely better than me in that aspect."

"Mr Arc, I would ask that you don't put yourself down in such a manner." Ozpin remarked in a slightly stern tone that made Jaune unconsciously stiffened in his bed. "No one could determine how the day would go, and quite frankly, the fact you survived the attacks of the Centipods and one ancient Death Stalker and came out with a few broken bones and some blood loss is considered quite a miracle."

"But they are still better, I'm the one who got wrecked." Jaune tried to argue his case.

"Well that can be explained in different manners, like you having to fight a few times in short succession, the storm disrupting the ground, your Aura being the first to break," Ozpin let loose a mischievous smirk at this point "and the skill-set you displayed not being consistent with your alleged transcripts." Jaune's eyes went wide as the heart monitor started to beep loudly in response to his quickening heart rate. Crap, he was found out! They knew about his forged transcripts!

He was going to get kicked out before he could get started!

"Relax, Mr Arc. Have you forgotten about your uncle telling me about your entry?" Ozpin actually let out an amused snort as he leaned back on his chair. "After all, it would not do me any good if you were to die on our watch." Jaune's heart rate slowed as he recalled how his uncle said that he pulled some strings to get him to Beacon. His heart gained a warm feeling and he could not help the misty eyes he had at the thought of his uncle risking his reputation to help him with his dream. He then paused as he considered what Ozpin said.

"Wait, if you knew, then why…"

"Why I let you in, knowing the high possibility of your death and risking the loss of my reputation and possibly of others?" Ozpin filled his query. "Well for one thing, I was curious to say the least. I had heard of your sisters, your uncle and perhaps a couple of others from your village, yet I did not get much information on you. If it was not for your uncle and Marianne, I would have been surprised of there being a son."

"Well I guess you can thank my father for that." Jaune could not stop the amount of bitterness that came from his mouth nor the disappointment on his face as he was once again reminded of his lack of talent or faith from his parents. Something that Ozpin picked up and lightly prodded his leg with his cane to gain his attention.

"That may be the case, but that is not something to bring you down. Whatever your parents think is not up to them to decide about your future, it is yours to command and yours to uphold." Ozpin spoke in a manner that made Jaune wonder how old the headmaster truly was. "In any case, Marianne, your uncle and grandfather talked to me about you and they have expressed your desire to be a huntsman. Your sister even showed me some clips of your training."

Jaune's face did the impossible of having a downcast expression and his skin tone stuck between paling from despair and blushing from the possible embarrassment, made worse by the Chesire smile on Ozpin.

"Oh yes, it was rather entertaining to see you bumbling around while getting knocked down by a couple of trees with rubber ends." Ozpin chuckled lightly at Jaune's reactions as the teen grabbed his face to hide the shame. "But it also showed me some potential in your body, and I must express my slight disbelief and disappointment towards your parents for withholding your training."

"Well, they did not really have much expectations." Jaune said sullenly.

"Well then, it is a good thing that your uncle approached me." Ozpin took a sip from the mug that Jaune only just noticed he had in his hand. "When he showed me your training regime and some clips of your training, I decided to go on a whim and invite you in."

"Wait, so it was on a whim?" Jaune asked with disbelief evident on his face.

"Well, as stated, part of it was my own personal interest." Ozpin crossed one leg and folded his fingers together as he looked at Jaune with a steady eye. "If you recall what I said at the opening speech, all the people who came here expect knowledge, prestige and guidance, but all I see is wasted potential not being utilized. And from where I am sitting, you have the most potential that is being wasted by being stuck in the country side."

"I do?"

"Jaune, let me ask you something and you give me a true answer. What separates you from the rest?" Ozpin asked with a raised eyebrow. "Aside from the transcripts?"

"Erm, they got access to Aura at childhood? They got way more awesome weaponry? Better lessons?" Jaune gave a few suggestions.

"The last one is the closest. To be more precise, all of the students have had training since young, whereas you only started roughly a year and a half ago with uneven timing from your three relatives. Yet you are actually able to keep up quite well if not a bit clumsily." Ozpin looked at Jaune with a steady eye, and the odd light in his eyes made Jaune aware of his suddenly dry throat.

"The way I see it Mr Arc, you can keep up with the others if you have a constant teacher to help you. That is why I am hanging on to you. I will see if I can divert some training to your spare time." Ozpin said while placing aside his mug. "It will be tough, but I believe you can do it."

"But…" Jaune tried to dissuade him only for Ozpin to hold up a finger.

"You persevered through your own strength, survived the initiation and help others to victory against the Grimm." Ozpin replied with a slightly proud tone. "Congratulations Mr Arc, you have earned your place in Beacon." Jaune could only stare at him with an odd warmth inside of him. Thus far only his sisters, his grandfather and uncle were the ones who supported his dream. Nobody else believed in it, and it hurt that his parents were at the forefront of that. But to have the headmaster of Beacon actually doing this of his own free will and acknowledging his efforts, it was something he would never dreamed of hearing, let alone attaining.

"Thank you." Jaune choked lightly as small tears dropped from his eyes.

"I want to see your potential, Mr Arc. Put in your best so that you can show your parents what they missed out." Ozpin leaned back on the chair. "Now I'm afraid to ask this since you are still recovering, but can you tell me about your little adventure with Miss Nikos regarding the catacomb?" It took a while for Jaune to process what he said in his current state, but he was able to get it in the end.

"Oh that, I guess she told you about it?"

"She did after an hour of yelling at us." Ozpin quirked an eyebrow. "She was really insistent on being here with you, I almost felt threatened by her actions. We managed to convince her that you were in safe hands, only then did she relay the information."

"Oops~" Jaune raised his hand to scratch the back of his head.

"So as it stands, we have her side of the story, but I would like to know yours." Ozpin spoke as he took out a scroll to record the session. Jaune took a moment to gather his thoughts, then with a quick sip of water, started to describe how he and Pyrrha got into the catacombs and encountered the Grimm that Ozipin called Centipods, pointing out their supposed strengths and weaknesses, and threw in a comment or two regarding their behavior patterns. He then described the catacomb, and the large number of skeletons laying there.

"This is quite informative, but it is also rather troubling to hear about that particular species near Beacon." Ozpin spoke after Jaune finished the story. "Much so in such numbers."

"Is it really bad, professor?" Jaune asked in concern.

"It is a little unnerving to find out their existence since they are not native to Vale, but that would be quickly remedied." Ozpin assured Jaune. "As we speak, Doctor Oobleck is assembling some third and fourth-year teams to flush them out, after which they can examine the catacombs."

"Ah, I hope they can clear them out." Jaune shuddered at the memory of the bugs. "I really want to sleep without having them in my dreams."

"Funny you mention that, they are considered creatures from nightmares in the old days." Ozpin chuckled at his response. "Which reminds me, Miss Nikos commented you have attained a weapon from there."

"Ah yes, Crimson Blitz." Jaune nodded his reply. "That guy saved my butt when I lost Crocea Mors down there. It sliced through the Grimm like butter."

"Yes, quite an interesting weapon. It is quite uncommon to find one that is still in decent condition to cut through Grimm armor." Ozpin remarked before chuckling lightly. "Miss Rose was quite adamant to study it while you are recuperating. Glynda had to get it out of her hands after she cut herself one too many times, and she gave quite arguably the most devastated expression a little girl could give when denied a toy." Jaune had to hold back a loud laugh at the image of Ruby pouting with big wide eyes as Glynda took away a toy in the form of a small Crimson Blitz.

"That would be a very devastating attack."

"Indeed. I can see her getting her way with that expression." Ozpin looked to his scroll and hummed. "Well I best not to keep you up too long. Before I go, I should let you know that while you can leave the hospital soon, you will have at least a couple of days to recover since we would need to clear out the catacomb and sweep the forest for more hiding spots, and that will push back some lessons. Use that time to gather back your strength and replenish what equipment you might need." Ozpin started to walk to the entrance when Jaune remembered something.

"Professor Ozpin." Jaune called out to him. "What of the initiation? We are supposed to be sorted into teams?"

"Ah yes, thank you for reminding me." Ozpin cleared his throat and straightened his back as he looked to Jaune with an expression that spoke of him giving an important announcement. "Jaune Arc, you have successfully obtained the White Rook Piece alongside Lie Ren, Pyrrha Nikos and Nora Valkyrie. From this day onward, you will work together as Team JNPR (Juniper)." He paused before dropping the bomb on him. "Led by you, Jaune Arc."

Jaune gaped at him with wide eyes and open mouth while gesturing with a shaking hand at himself. "Led by…"

"Again, congratulations young man." Ozpin smiled and nodded at him. "Well, without further ado, I shall take my leave and let your friends know you are well." He walked out of the door, leaving Jaune alone with his thoughts and revelation that he was made leader of a team. He was just thinking of coasting through the initiation, but now he had survived it and proven himself to the headmaster that he belonged.

 _He had done it!_

The sound of the door opening broke his thoughts and directed his attention to the group that entered.

"Jaune!" Ruby rushed forward and launched herself at him, followed shortly by Nora who practically leaped into the air and tackled the both of them at once, forcing the three of them off his bed.

"OOF!" Jaune groaned as his back hit the ground hard and he started to see double.

"Ruby! Nora!" Weiss and Ren came forward to grab their respective partners while Pyrrha went with deep concern to help him up from the ground.

"Well Lady Killer, you are back from the dead." Yang gave a mischievous grin at him. "And you have passed the initiation with us. I guess you have an 'Arc-cellant' day, right guys?" The others let out a painful groan while Jaune snickered at her pun. "See, someone does appreciate my puns!"

"Please spare us the agony~" Weiss grumbled as she palmed her face.

"It is great that you are up, now I can ask you this!" Ruby pointed a finger at Jaune with a serious expression marred with the cuteness of her actions. "Let me see Crimson Blitz, I want to know everything about it!"

"Err, sure… If I know where it is?" Jaune said as he only just realized that everyone else had their weapons. His answer came when Pyrrha stepped forward to present him both of his weapons.

"I held on to them while you were here. Figured you might want them back." Pyrrha offered a smile as she stretched her arms out. Jaune thanked her as he took Crocea Mors and Crimson Blitz from her and laid them across his lap.

"Here you go Ruby, but please be very careful." Jaune gave her his patented 'Big Brother' look. "This blade is really sharp despite its age, and I can tell you cut yourself a lot." Ruby let out a squeak and tried to hide her hands that sported some bandages.

"Please tell her that. She does not listen to me." Yang also directed a half-serious glare at Ruby. "The nurse was going nuts at her for every cut she gained from the weapon."

"It's not my fault~ I just want to know why is it in good condition from the catacomb, and how Jaune did the big attack at the Death Stalker!" Ruby tried to give her reasons while waving her hands.

"She does have a point!" Nora got real close to Jaune, making him blush lightly and Pyrrha to frown at her. "How did you do it, Fearless Leader?"

"Erm…" Jaune looked to the others while scratching his head. "Would you believe me if I told you I had absolutely no idea how that happened?"

"Jaune, tell us!" Nora and Ruby jumped at him with wide eyes, making him think one more thought.

 _'I got to deal with my sisters' equivalents in Beacon, this is going to be painful!'_

=()=

Ozpin let out a chuckle as he watched through the glass Jaune Arc getting tackled by Ruby Rose and Nora Valkyrie again while the others smiled or laughed at their situation, or in Weiss Schnee's case, looked away with a disgruntled expression. He could tell that the fight has gotten most of them closer to one another, and from what he could see, these two teams would likely be a force to be reckoned with.

Especially with the Queen coming up.

"Ozpin." He turned to find his stern headmistress looking at him with slight disapproval. "I understand that you want to humor your friends and give the boy a chance, but I am still against the idea of letting him go against the Grimm without proper training."

"And that is why we have him here, to give the necessary training to survive." Ozpin countered smoothly as he began to walk down the corridor with her following suit. "You may recall that he was able to coordinate Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie to destroy the Centipods, which I might add are creatures that need at least three A-Rank Teams to handle. After that he was able to stall the Death Stalker long enough to get Team RWBY to their end and fight it off. And let's not forget that he was able to kill off the ancient Death Stalker with one move."

"Yes, and it is in regards to that last part that I am still reluctant to have him here." Glynda pressed on with her argument. "As far as I can tell, there is no recorded evidence of anyone in his family who could perform that move, and what little Pyrrha Nikos has told us, I am not certain that he is totally in control of his recently released Aura. Who knows what would happen if he does that again in the campus?"

"That is true, which is why I am leaving you to decide the best course of lessons to aid him in." Ozpin gave her that smile that made her want to smack it off with her riding crop. "He has some basic training given in the past year, but needs help on the fundamentals. I trust you can help him out."

"Fine~" Glynda massaged her temple while letting out a resigned sigh. It was tough being the only teacher who had to keep strict discipline among a group of other teachers that want to break or ignore every rule in the book, but she could see where Ozpin was going with Jaune. The teen was unusually quick on his feet when driven and has displayed some talent in tactics, particularly ones that were on the spot, which was quite commendable. And what little she had seen, she had to agree with his sentiment regarding his parent's reluctance to give him any training.

By the Maidens, he did not even know what was Aura in the first place!

"Moving on, is Oobleck ready for the search?" Ozpin asked as they reached the elevator.

"Yes, and we have two extra teams on standby." Glynda displayed the information on her data-pad. "Team CVFY and Team RSNE have returned from their missions earlier than expected, so when they heard the call they volunteered. Peter is also joining them to ensure they could handle the Grimm thanks to the descriptions by Miss Nikos. We should be able to move out within the hour."

"Hmm, I suppose we would need to postpone some of the lessons further back." Ozpin remarked. They paused as the doors opened to let them in and the elevator started to go down.

"Considering the possible threat and the discovery of this catacomb, it might be worth the few extra days to make sure the Grimm are cleared out. And the fact we have catacombs this close to Beacon suggest a possible burial site." Glynda spoke as she checked her information. "For all we know, there may be more. If Mr Arc and Miss Nikos were telling the truth, there are likely some artifacts down there that could be valuable and should be in a museum."

"Excellent." Ozpin nodded as he pondered on his discussion with Pyrrha and Jaune. "We need to secure this catacomb and clear out the Centipods."

"I have to admit, if it was not for both Mr Arc's and Miss Nikos's testimonies, and the security footage, I would have dismissed them as being stressed and delusional." Miss Glynda commented as the elevator chimed and the doors opened to let them out. "Centipods were - well, _are_ \- not native to Vale or Atlas, not to mention they haven't been seen for the past couple of centuries."

"Indeed, and what troubles me is the sheer number that was hidden from us." Ozpin frowned lightly as he recalled the number of Grimm Team JNPR had to face. "A few of them were quite old based on their armor, it is possible that one had arrived many years ago and laid their eggs before dying off."

"But that would not account for the numbers, they would have died off from starvation." Glynda pointed out that error. Ozpin shrugged and conceded to her point.

"Well at the least, Oobleck and Peter are going to have a field day with this." Glynda gave a rather undignified snort before giving a quick look-a-round to check for students, slightly embarrassed at her reaction.

"You know those two. Oobleck is going to be in heaven examining the ruins, and Peter will probably use this for his next lesson." Glynda said as she used her riding crop to straighten her spectacles. "Maybe throw in some fire sprouting from the ground and lightning from the sky." At that, it was Ozpin's turn to snort.

"Perhaps for dramatic flair, let him lose his clothes and fight them naked for hours on end." The both of them paused and shuddered at that mental image. Not something to be enjoyed, and for that the man earned a hard smack on the head from Glynda's riding crop.

As they made their way to the main building with the sounds of Glynda's sputtering and grumbling from Ozpin's horrible suggestion, Ozpin inwardly thought of his conversation with Jaune and one other tidbit of information in the form of the secondary weapon Jaune had obtained from the catacomb.

There was one more reason that Ozpin decided to take in Jaune, and this was only after the initiation when he was brought to the hospital. When he spotted the procured weapon in the hands of Ruby Rose, he had to pause for a moment to make sure he was not having issues with his sight. He could sense the power radiating from it, and more importantly, the soul residing inside. And when Miss Nikos handed the weapon back to Jaune, he could hear the resonance from the contact, how it seemed to bond seamlessly to his Aura.

There was only one such occurrence in the past, and it was happening now with him.

 _'The fates have something planned for Jaune Arc, what it is will likely have an impact on the future.'_ Ozpin thought as he walked to his office. It was for that and the favors of his uncle that Ozpin decided to bring Jaune under his wing, and he would make sure that Jaune has the right training to survive the coming war.

He had all the necessary pieces in place.

He had Pyrrha Nikos as preparation for the Maiden Transfer should Amber fall prematurely.

He had Ruby Rose for her Silver Eyes.

He had Blake Belladonna as a possible source of information for White Fang.

He had Weiss Schnee for a possible lead in Atlas.

He had sprouting talent in Yang Xiao Long, Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie.

And finally, he had Jaune Arc, a proverbial wild card with a knack for tactics, possible growth and something that needed monitoring.

It was time to begin the attack on Salem.

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Hello there, here's the latest chapter for this story. As stated this is based on a story challenge and now I am starting to expand it. I want to set some parts up to make sure that Jaune gets a good foothold in Beacon. As shown, I have included his relatives to ensure he is grounded in his senses (in the show, he does have more common sense alongside Ren and Weiss, but lets his pride take over too easily, leading to the silly Jaundice).

I will state this, I am following the guidelines for the story challenge and I also felt that I want to make Jaune reasonably strong but not overpowered. Hopefully you guys enjoy it as I try to expand this.

And I put my pen down for now.


	4. Preparing for the New Term

**Disclaimer:**

The works of Rooster-Teeth and their characters are their own and that of the mighty Oum. The only thing I own are the one-shot ideas that popped into my head and whatever OCs I would create for them. This is a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, flames will be ignored. Any references to characters in real-life or fiction are purely coincidental. If I could make money out of my ideas, it would be nice...

Oum Damn It!

* * *

 **Date Published: 4th July 2018**

 **Updated On: 21st November 2018**

 **Chapter Title: Preparing for the New Term**

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 **~~ Scene 1 ~~**

"KREEE!" The Centipod screeched in pain before its head got split in half right down the center and its body crashed to the ground hard. The brown-haired huntsman-in-training grunted as he pulled his sword out of the mask, grimacing at the sight of brain matter stuck to the serrated edges while some of the blood spewed out of the head and splattered his pants. The huntsman-in-training swung his sword hard to remove the flesh and blood before using a cloth to clean off the remainder, making a mental note to burn it later.

"And that is the last one!" The teen called out while wiping the brow with his sleeve, watching the corpse dispersing in a cloud of black smoke. "MAN~ these guys are hard to kill!" After making sure that there were no more Grimm around him, he quickly made his way back to the resting point where he spotted his partner coming from the other end. "Hey mate, I finished off my end, and damn these guys are damn nasty!"

"No kidding, I spent all of my ammo on the last batch, I had to go hand to hand with this group." His partner, a wolf Faunus with tribal tattoos going on one side of his face and arm, groaned as he came to his side and unceremoniously dumped himself down on the rock next to him. "Thank goodness for that off-day coming after this mission huh, Banner?"

"Yup." Banner dropped to his side while wincing from his aching muscles. "I was told this could take two days or more to complete, but I did not expect these bugs to be so tenacious in their attacks and so stubborn that it is now coming to the end of the week. It is almost like that time we took on a small horde back in Vacuo!"

"Yeah, makes you wonder how lucky those first years managed to survive, on top of that Nevermore and Death Stalker." His partner quipped as he removed his gauntlets to inspect the damage.

"You know there was Pyrrha Nikos on that group, followed by Weiss Schnee?" Banner said as he turned to see the other teams coming into view, each of them stumbling in exhaustion while covered in sweat and blood and one in particular looked ready to go to his grave without much help. "Either one of them could have dealt with those creatures on their own."

"Yeah well, those two are exceptions." The wolf Faunus snorted. "But you recall seeing that footage of that first year who blasted the Death Stalker to kingdom come? According to the professors, he was also the guy who found the weak-spots of this particular Grimm we are facing."

"Seriously, the guy who looks like a noodle that could get knocked down by a gust of wind?" Banner shook his head in disbelief. "Really Logan, these kids are getting weirder by the years. From what I heard, we also have a fifteen year old joining?"

"Yup." The Faunus nodded. "They are just getting weirder and younger by the year. Next thing you know, we will be ushering in twelve year olds or even ten year olds in the next few years."

"I hope not, the world is already messed up as it is what with the robberies, White Fang attacks (sorry about that, Logan) and all the weird Grimm sightings popping up everywhere." Banner stretched his arms and yawned loudly. "Well, for now we can kick back and relax."

"Yeah." Logan cracked his neck while looking at the teams coming in before pausing. "Well, there may be one other good point to handling this mission." Banner looked to the Faunus with a raised eyebrow, to which the guy motioned with his head and a smirk. Banner turned to find one of the few all female teams coming nearer and looking like they had a tangle with a cloth shredder with all of their armors gone and their clothing in tatters. He recalled them being a group of females from the third-year most known to dress most conservatively in a school where other females were known to dress quite fashionably and daringly. (Banner had once questioned whether the academy was really for training Huntsmen or for becoming super-models.)

But for this mission, it would seem that they were not prepared for the razor sharp mandibles or legs that could cut through their clothing, nor were they prepared for the acid that could eat through their armor. Thus, they have lost quite a fair bit of their armor and clothing, showing off more skin than they would normally be comfortable with and giving the males a chance to see their figures, much to the females' embarrassment as they walked to their resting spot amid the wolf-whistling and cat-calling.

 _'Huh, fancy that. The girl who is supposedly the youngest actually has the biggest bust of the lot. How and where did she hide those knockers?!'_

"Enjoying the view, mate?" Logan interrupted his inner monologue with a knowing smirk.

"Okay, I will admit, that is a good sight to enjoy at the end of a mission." Banner shrugged with a smile. "It certainly takes the stress away from the mission."

"Well, least you guys are enjoying yourselves with the view after the mission." They turned to find the third member of their team coming over with a grumble. "I had to have Coco Adel on my detail when her shirt got the acid spit."

"Why are you complaining about that?" The two of them looked at their friend with raised eyebrows. "She is one of the hottest gals among the second year in Beacon. She has been modeling for that fashion show, and you know how much one photo of her in those custom suits go for, let alone that one time she modeled in that black bikini. If you are telling me she lost some of her clothing, you should be getting quite the eyeful."

And they should know that fact very well; when Coco Adel debuted in that bikini at the beach, plenty of orders for the magazine were made, only to be banned by Glynda Goodwitch when she found many of the male students in rather compromising situations with the particular magazine open. She even went to the campus furnace to burn them all with extreme prejudice, much to the sorrows of the males who mourned the destruction like they lost a dear friend.

Shame for them, those were very good shots of her in rather nice positions.

"You also remember how particular she is about her clothes and fashion and if they have even one thread out of line." The blond-haired teammate groaned as he dumped himself unceremoniously on the ground next to him. "Just a tear on her favorite scarf and she would tear a pack of Beowolves to shreds. So imagine parts of her clothing getting cut apart or burned away by acid?"

The other two paused to think for a moment before shuddering at the image of a gun-crazy Coco Adel letting loose her Gatling Gun while laughing like a mad woman. Suddenly they did not fault their friend of his situation. Coco Adel had the reputation of a woman who would go berserk at a few things, such as friends getting hurt, and her fashionable clothes getting destroyed. The last time that happened, she nearly took out her support team as she annihilated a level 2 Grimm Horde, thus getting a huge reprimanding and a month's worth of detentions by Glynda Goodwitch.

"Okay, I get that." Logan gave him a sympathetic look.

"All right chaps, we are finally done with the extermination!" The booming voice of Peter Port drew everyone's attention to the portly man as he jovially made his way to the students with a skip in his steps, no doubt having enjoyed the thrill of fighting the Grimm and possibly thinking of adding them to his arsenal of long-winded story lecturing. "We will be taking a short break before we assist my dear friend in checking out the crypts. If all goes well, we should be back in Beacon in time for dinner!"

"Good, I am missing some decent grub in my stomach." Banner said as the others around him agreed wholeheartedly. Battle rations were good for the odd day of outfield, but it does lower the moral on a longer basis due to the flat flavors.

"Come on now, people! We have thinned out the Grimm, so we can now enter these ruins without any issues!" Oobleck appeared with his usual speed and with a notable cheer in his voice. "Let us now explore the catacombs and see if we can find anything to bring back for studies! If we are lucky, we can even get some artifacts for the local museum!"

"Did someone mix espresso with the Vacuo Beans in his thermos again?" Banner asked while watching the man talk at fifty miles per hour.

"I hope not, the last time someone did that, it was a disaster." Logan shuddered at the memory. The others around him also nodded with haunted expressions. That was perhaps the one time that Ozpin himself was fearful of his fellow caffeine drinker, after he had brought about enough destruction to warrant a complete makeover of the East Wing and at least the partial removal of the South Wing due to it being structurally unsound. It was also the one time that the entire cohort consisting of third and fourth years got figuratively massacred by the crazed man. The groups had to be hospitalized for a few weeks before they could move again, and all were wary of the professor ever since. One thing was clear.

Never attempt to tamper with the professor's coffee, either for a dare or a prank.

"Right, let's get this over with." Banner got up and brushed his clothes of dust, before making his way to the area where rations were being handed out. "The sooner we finish the tasks, the faster we get to our beds."

"Agreed."

 **~~ Scene 2 ~~**

In a way, Jaune felt that he and Pyrrha deserved some praises, if only because of their little discovery of the foreign Grimm species and the catacomb, they got a reward in the form of lazing around of sorts.

The whole of the first year batch got a few days off to relax and stockpile on whatever reading materials or equipment needed for the future, as evidently shown by a few who went immediately after the initiation to get some items they either could not get in the beginning or used up during the Initiation and were now rushing to buy them. To be fair, there were others who were still recovering from their little bouts of Grimm fighting from the initiation and so this was also meant for them to get better. A majority of them were back on their feet the next day while some of the more seriously injured took another two days. But an update from Ozpin himself told him that the mission to clean up the forest of those Centipods was getting a lot trickier for them to finish within two days, thus everyone got reduced lessons for a few more days, but were filled up with Professor Goodwitch's lectures on certain topics normally done by the others, or other professors who took the opportunity to impart on them certain topics normally avoided.

On his part, Jaune was safe since his uncle had seen it fit to get whatever supplies needed for the first couple of months and his grandfather gave him some items to help with maintenance for Crocea Mors on the unlikely event that it needed repairs. And thus, with the time given to him, on the rare occasion that he would not use the free time given to him for reading comics or relaxing, Jaune decided to do something that should have been done from the start.

Examining the new weapon he had obtained from the catacomb.

Jaune had woken up early to get a head-start at the breakfast choices. He left a note for his team (he still could not believe he was leading one) before going to the locker to retrieve his arms and supplies required to clean both of his weapons. It took a while as he had to take a detour away from one Cardin Winchester who was in the area tormenting other first years. He did not need that in the early morning. Once he got to one of the smaller shacks, it was simply a matter of going to one of the spare rooms near his team and begin his weapon maintenance.

Crocea Mors did not need much to work on, just a bit of cleaning agent to remove the more stubborn stains and marks, a quick oiling to keep the joints and mechanisms going and a whetstone to keep the edge sharp. Crimson Blitz needed more attention due to the passage of time; despite of its apparent sharpness and sturdiness, there was a fair amount of rust that had accumulated along the blade, reducing its effectiveness quite a fair bit. The handle needed its wrapping replaced, and the overall body needed a good scrubbing and oiling. All of that was just the outside, he was not sure about the supposed mechanisms inside the weapon since it did change portions of its form during the fight.

 _'This is going to take me a while, thank goodness we have the morning off.'_

"Hey, Jaune!"

"WAH!" Jaune jumped while nearly cutting his table with the weapon. Breathing heavily he turned to find Ruby with a sheepish smile and an expression crossed between surprise and slight glee.

"Did you just scream like a little girl?" Ruby asked with raised eyebrows and with a hint of glee in her words.

"No! That was a… manly scream. Yeah!" Jaune cursed inwardly at his pathetic attempt to sound more confident. Thankfully Ruby did not pay much attention to it as she turned to look at the sword.

"Oh~ you are doing maintenance on this fellow!" Ruby came forward and gazed at it with wide eyes. "You are definitely going to need a lot of work for this weapon, it is really clogged up!"

"I know, and I am not sure how will I be able to get it all off." Jaune agreed before pausing. "Say Ruby, you built Crescent Rose all by yourself, right?"

"Yup, I built my baby from scratch, with all the quality parts I can get my hands on!" Ruby placed her hands on her hips and gave off a expression of pride that was a little hilarious with her cute posturing. "My baby can take on anything~"

"Yeah, so that means you know something about weapon maintenance?" Jaune lifted Crimson Blitz in one hand and the cleaning oil in the other. "I can only deal with partial rust, and I am not sure about the mechanisms since Crocea Mors is a classic. Maybe you can give me a few tips?"

"Oh~ I get to see how Crimson Blitz innards look like!" Ruby squealed as she brought her hands together and hopped on the spot. "Okay then, let's go to the forge right now!" Before Jaune could speak, Ruby used her semblance to pick up all of his equipment before grabbing his collar and pulling him out of the room and onward to the forge.

"Ruby~ Slow down!" Jaune yelled as he watched the world blurred around him to the point he started to get nauseous, but thankfully Ruby reached their destination and stopped near the door. But unfortunately the momentum was still enough to send him face first against the door, lightly bruising his face.

"Oops~ sorry Jaune!" Ruby panicked as she pulled him back, leaving behind a small imprint of his face scrunched up in pain on the door's surface. Ruby took one look at it before pressing a hand to her mouth to stifle her laughter.

"Haha~ laugh it up girl." Jaune snorted as he winced from the pain, internally grateful to Pyrrha for unlocking his aura.

"Sorry, I just thought it resembles some of those cartoons Yang and I watched when we were younger." Ruby controlled her laughter with a visible amount of effort. Jaune merely shook his head and looked up to see the building they had arrived at. The only indicator that this was the academy's forge was an old bronze plague that had its lettering faded out and the coloring have turned to a sickly green.

"This is the forge?" Jaune could not help the skeptical tone in his words as he looked to the door that looked ready to drop down if not having his face introduced to it so intimately showed that it was sturdier than it looked.

"Yeah, it is." Ruby gave a nod. "Sure it looks worn down, but wait till you see the wonders that are inside!" With that, she pushed open the door, releasing the hot air that was trapped inside and making Jaune flinch and taking a step back from the heat. "Come on, this way!"

Taking a moment to re-orientate himself, Jaune walked through the door and found himself staring at what could be the biggest set of iron furnaces one would ever lay their eyes on. The three black furnaces were easily as big as the academy protective walls, second only in size to the clock tower of the academy. They were situated by the sides of the forge building around them, their huge piping extending high to the ceiling that boosted of a huge glass roof to provide natural lighting in the day.

"Over here!" He turned to find Ruby eagerly waving at him by a table she grabbed. He walked to her and deposited the bag of items onto the table with a loud clang.

"Right then, let's get started!" Much to Jaune's amusement, Ruby set about taking all of his repair items from the bag and placing it at one end of the table, then grabbing some of the other tools located at the wall before reaching for the sword to be repaired. But that stopped her as she pulled back her hand with a yelp. "OW!"

"Ruby?!" Jaune came to her side as she lifted a hand with a bleeding finger.

"I am fine, the sword just cut me." She started sucking the finger while looking at the sword with a cute glare. "I don't get it. I have been handling different weapons all my life, yet Crimson Blitz does not let me touch him at all! Why am I hated so much?!"

"I am sure it is not like that." Jaune patted her head gently, thinking how much she resembled one of his younger sisters when they were angry at something that was out of their control. "Maybe the blade is sharper than you think?"

"That much I get, but I was aiming for the handle! You can touch it okay!" Ruby replied while pouting at him. Jaune could shrug and shake his head before reaching out to grab the weapon and lifting it to his eye level, silently chuckling at the cute expression Ruby was using seeing that he could touch the weapon without getting hurt.

"Hey there Crimson Blitz. Don't suppose you can ease off a little, Ruby is a friend and she has handled weapons before. Maybe you can let her handle you for a while, she wants to help me with your maintenance to make you looking good again." Jaune said it in a joking manner, but those words seemed to have triggered something as the weapon lightly glowed and the sounds of some internal mechanism moving about emitted from it before the blade portion seemed to fold into the fuller as the handle separated from the guard, leaving it open for him to remove.

"Okay… that was weird?" Jaune blinked as he looked at the weapon before slowly placing it back on the table and stared at it like it was a ticking time bomb. Ruby timidly extended a finger to touch the weapon before pulling it back quickly like she got scalded. When nothing happened she extended her hand to grip the handle before attempting to separate the parts. Much to their surprise, she was not hurt this time, making her pause for a moment before she squealed and started to take apart the weapon quickly and laying it out in neat rows. Before Jaune could comment, Ruby finished taking Crimson Blitz apart and turned to him with wide eyes.

"How did you do it? Are you some weapon whisperer? Do you think you can talk to Crescent Rose for me?!" Ruby started to rattle off questions as she got closer in her excitement, forcing Jaune to lean back with his arms raised.

"Erm, Ruby. Please slow down!" Jaune called out to her while placing his hands on her shoulders.

"Sorry~" Ruby scratched her head as she got back to her old position. "But how did you do that?"

"I have no idea, I was actually joking about it." Jaune looked at the disassembled weapon with a raised eyebrow. "Ever since I got this guy, it has been an odd experience to say the least. It is like I know it from somewhere else before."

"Maybe you have seen something similar before coming to Beacon?" Ruby asked while looking at the handle with a cursory eye before placing it back on the table.

"Perhaps." Jaune shrugged in reply. "So how is the damage?"

"Not much surprisingly." Ruby commented as she looked at the parts with a critical eye. "It is more dirt and clogged up oil sediments that is interfering with the inner mechanisms, and the blade portion itself is in pretty good condition, although we are going to need some heavy duty rust remover with a whetstone to keep the edge, and some type of agent to get the metal gears working properly. Not to mention something to help with the density of the metal itself. It is strong but it seems to be barely hanging on."

"Would this do?" Jaune held up a clear bottle containing oil with a gold hue that his grandfather packed into his bag. "This was meant for Crocea Mors due to the unique metal composition."

"No way~" Ruby grabbed the bottle and looked at the contents like it was treasure. "This is a Grade 5 Oil Regent! Where on Remnant did you get this?!"

"Er, I got it from my Grandpa who owns a small business that refines, manufactures and sells these." Jaune scratched his head with a raised eyebrow. "I believe he has a branch in Vale as well."

"Wait, he owns Sanitori-Gear Corporation!" Ruby snapped her head at Jaune with wide eyes that seemed to be gleaming brightly. "They make some of the best mechanic-grade oils and materials for weapons, they get a double gold-standard for the most-lasting rust resistant materials around!"

"Well then, I believe my Grandpa will be very happy to hear that." Jaune smiled at the thought of his grandfather's face the next time he would write to him. "Sounds like you used a fair amount of their items."

"Oh yes, I especially am grateful for the special axles they have, it helped my baby a lot!" Ruby spoke while cradling her weapon like one would to a teddy bear. It was half-adorable and half-creepy to Jaune.

"So where do we start?" That question released the tsunami of information from the dam that was Ruby Rose as she proceeded to unload all the knowledge she could give in one possible breath. Jaune felt like his brain was getting cooked from the information Ruby was trying to bestow on him.

While this was going on, a certain red-haired spartan chanced upon them and stuck around the corner to watch their interactions. Pyrrha could not help but chuckle at the manner Jaune was trying to absorb all the information that Ruby was spouting non-stop, while inwardly thinking that her luck was finally turning around. She never had anyone looking to her past the persona of the 'Invincible Girl', yet Jaune was the first, followed by the others. Pyrrha was still weary of the Schnee Heiress considering her haughty attitude towards others, not to mention her rather pointed remarks about her wanting to be with Pyrrha as her partner instead of their respective counterparts. And she was a little unsure of the dark-haired Blake who kept quiet most of the time, but she actually got along well with the others.

It was a very interesting few days for her to try and understand her leader. He was rather unassuming and quite honestly a bit of a noodle, but he actually had quite a head for ideas, and certainly a very interesting family. Pyrrha had to suppress a snort at the memory of Nora's reaction when he told them about his numerous siblings, in front of an embarrassed Ren who tried to curtail her words.

 _'_ _Either your father has a secret mistress you do not know of, or your mum is_ _a superwoman_ _to pump out that many kids_ _!'_

Pyrrha had to agree with that internally, and she also gave her silent acknowledgment to the woman in question. No doubt she would be quite the inspiration for other girls.

In any case, she got a chance to some training with Jaune where she got the chance to confirm her thoughts. Jaune got some basics with his weapons, but seemed to be lacking the major portions that he needed to handle other fighters, let alone the Grimm. Thankfully she held the exact type of weaponry and went about helping him.

She was not, as insisted by Nora and Yang, using this as an opportunity to get closer to Jaune. She was just helping out a friend who was her leader and teammate, that was all.

Really.

That said, there was something odd about his training style regarding Crocea Mors and Crimson Blitz that had her frowning.

If Jaune was using just his shield component of Crocea Mors, he was practically made to be a Tank; able to hang on for long periods of assault without much wearing out, and that was without Aura to begin with. Pyrrha let out an unconscious shudder at the thought of having to face Jaune with all of that defensive strength; she was a champion all-rounder with a semblance that could be considered a cheat, but she would be the first to admit that she had issues in the past with fighters who focused on defense, and their defensive strategies were considered more developed but less powerful than Jaune's. The young blond on the other hand was equipped simply with a shield that might as well be made of some adamantium-diamond alloy since she could not even put a damn scratch on it! Not to mention his rather simplistic manner of using his shield to bash seemed to work particularly well if he used it together with a tackle.

When it came to using the sword portion, that was when his skills dipped harshly. He had the basics down fine, but he certainly has issues facing others who were faster, stronger or at least have better techniques than him. He could keep up with her if she held back, but once she disarmed him he would be nothing more than a civilian unless he has his shield.

Then if Jaune was using Crimson Blitz as his primary weapon...

Pyrrha involuntarily shuddered again as she considered that weapon. She did not think too much about it during and after the initiation, but there was something odd about that weapon that gave her chills down her spine. It was not obvious, but the weapon seemed to be in tune with Jaune for lack of better words, and certainly Jaune had an odd affinity with it, able to utilize it quite well if not a bit stiffly. But when she faced him using that weapon, she could not help but see an odd shadowy figure that seemed to be beside him at times, with glowing eyes staring right at her.

Maybe she was getting tired at those times, but she also noted how Blake seemed to tense up whenever Jaune equipped himself with the red blade for training, not to mention the oddity of others getting mysterious cuts each time they tried to lay their hands on it. Ruby got small paper cuts alongside Nora and Yang, while Weiss and Blake got bigger cuts when they tried. Ren and herself were oddly exempted from them, while on the other end of the scale, there were some who got relatively deep cuts to warrant the usage of bandages. Privately she noted that those who got the deep cuts were those who tried to pick on him, Ruby or the others, such as one Cardin Winchester who made a huge scene when he tried to pick on Jaune and grab his weapon, only to yell out in pain and pulled back his arm that had a deep gash on his palm. Glynda Goodwitch who was in the area merely assigned Cardin detention while checking his wound before warning Jaune to get a sheath for the weapon.

If she did not know it any better, Pyrrha would swear the weapon was sentient...

"Hey P-money~" Her thoughts were broken when an arm wrapped around her shoulder and she found herself facing the cheeky expression of one Yang Xiao Long. "Fancy meeting you here!"

"Good morning, Yang. It is nice to meet you too." Pyrrha greeted her only to get a groan from the blonde. "What?"

"Seriously girl, you should learn to relax a little." Yang answered while waving a hand. "You don't need to be too polite in your greeting."

"Uh..."

"Take it slow dear, we can help you." Yang said with an expression that could be considered serious if not for the mischievous glint in her eyes that made Pyrrha worried for her own safety and sanity. A few days of getting to know her told her that she was a highly independent lady who was apparently an 'adrenaline junkie' and a person who loved to play pranks on others, so she had every right to fear Yang's proposal.

Thankfully for Pyrrha, Yang turned her head to look at Ruby and Jaune. "Oh dear, looks like Jaune has asked 'that' type of question to Ruby." Yang chuckled at the sight of Jaune trying to keep up with Ruby as the little red riding hood used her semblance to grab either a tool or a component to fix the new blade that Jaune obtained.

"'That' type of question?" Pyrrha tilted her head.

"Anything that pertains to Ruby's knowledge of weapons." Yang replied with a shrug. "She is very passionate."

"Ah that I can get." Pyrrha said that while remembering the other time Ruby fawn over Milo and Akouos, making Pryyha a little uncomfortable to be honest. There had to be a limit to how much a person loves weaponry.

"So, were you spying on them?" Yang looked to Pyrrha with a teasing smile. Thankfully Pyrrha had a counter for that.

"Oh no, I was actually going to find Jaune to tell him that the professors were returning from the hunt and the excavation, Professor Goodwitch was sending out alerts to everyone that they had to make sure they have their equipment ready because she was planning to start the actual combat training." Pyrrha answered while using her professional training to maintain her facial expression.

"Ugh! No more free time..." Yang seemed to deflate from that news before getting right back up. "Oh well, fun while it lasted. So anything you can tell me about Lover Boy there?"

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha raised an eyebrow at her question and the nickname given to Jaune.

"My team and I only know a bit about him which is not much, and I figured you know more since you are his partner."

"Well..." Pyrrha squirmed underneath the arm wrapped around her, wondering what to tell Yang without breaking Jaune's trust. "Jaune comes from a small town around the outskirts of Vale, and it has natural defenses that helped to protect it from Grimm so they only get the occasional Beowolf, Boartusk and Ursa. He is the only son of the family."

"Oh so Jaune has sisters?" Yang perked at the thought that Jaune was a fellow older sibling to take care of his family. "How many?" Pyrrha smiled knowing the likely reaction she would get.

"Seven sisters."

"SAY WHAT?!" Yang yelled out in surprise much to Pyrrha's ringing ears before the both turned to the person in question who apparently got the same reaction from Ruby now looking at him with a wide mouth. Looking around, Pyrrha noted with embarrassment at the few who were in the building looking at them wondering about the outburst.

"Seven sisters?! How on Remnant did you survive that, I can barely handle one Yang!" Ruby gasped at the bit of knowledge Jaune apparently bestowed on her.

"Hey what is that supposed to mean?!" Yang released her hold on Pyrrha and made her way to Ruby with a mischievous glint in her eye. Pyrrha mentally let out a sigh of relief before making her way to Jaune as she watched Yang tackled Ruby to the ground and everyone in the area started cheering at them rolling around the area. The red-haired girl turned to Jaune and smiled while greeting him, privately enjoying the moment with him.

Now if only she could deal with the shadowy figure that was hovering near his shoulder with glowing eyes...

 **~~ Scene 3 ~~**

Ozpin let out a hum as he read the report written by Oobleck and Port who returned only an hour ago from their mission. Oobleck was practically giddy with excitement at the possibility of new knowledge while Port was looking ready to unleash his new-found discovery of the Centipods with a new long-winded tale.

Ozpin was a little disturbed at the descriptions regarding the Centipod nest they found at the ruins. There were a lot more eggs than anticipated and Port reckoned there may actually be more elsewhere in Vale, not just in the forest. This was a worrisome thought as these creatures were known to tunnel through solid earth and concrete undetected, and based on both his and Jaune's descriptions, it would appear they had many years to grow to a staggering size. He would need to keep his ears out for any disappearances or attacks, for these were the types that could be stealthy if they wanted.

On another note, there was something in Oobleck's portion that tickled Ozpin's curiosity. His assigned teams had found the ruins and the skeletons that laid in it. There was a comment by the doctor that the weapons found were unusually preserved well despite the passage of time, and that they resisted the attempts by the students to remove them from the area. One student known for his enhancement Semblance actually broke his aura and in turn torn his muscles trying to lift a war hammer that was half-buried in the rock. Oobleck thought of returning to get more equipment and other historians to aid with the removal and possibly understand why this was the case.

For Ozpin though, he had a possible answer based on one new student who had obtained one such weapon.

 _'It would seem that the other weapons could only be removed by a select few.'_ The headmaster took a sip from his mug, allowing the caffeine to flow through his veins to stimulate his mind. He had his suspicions, especially when he remembered Pyrrha Nikos's testimony about their journey through the ruins. Her mentioning of them paying their respects to the fallen warriors had confirmed some of his thoughts especially when he saw Jaune handling Crimson Blitz. With the use of his cameras, he watched Jaune used the weapon in question during the initiation and in the training rooms, noting his fighting patterns and he came to his conclusion.

Jaune was chosen to wield the weapon, but not without some 'help' from a fallen fighter who acknowledged his respect to them.

If that were the case, Jaune may be the only one to remove the others from the ruins, with likely additions coming along, but if it was so, would he be in danger of losing something as a price?

Would Ozpin be able to look past the possibility of having a person lose their soul in exchange for a possible weapon to go against the Queen?

Ozpin took another sip as he placed the report on his desk and looked to the broken moon outside of his window.

Decisions, decisions, decisions.

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0-0-0-0

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Hello again! (Pyrrha behind me with a halo waving her hand with a smile)

Apologies for the long wait, I have been having some writer's block and some home issues to deal with. But I got this out and have written some ideas for the Melting Pots, so you can expect them in the coming future.

This chapter is a bit short, but I am trying to ease into this slowly and not make Jaune the next Saitama or god. As much as I enjoy some of the stories depicting him in that manner, I will try to avoid that in this story.

Hope you enjoy this. Please review and if you like the story, I hope to see you in the future.

And I put my pen down for now.

Is anyone else having trouble with the site lately? I can't seem to upload without it creating glitches on me.


	5. Lessons Part 1

**Disclaimer:**

The works of Rooster-Teeth and their characters are their own and that of the mighty Oum. The only thing I own are the one-shot ideas that popped into my head and whatever OCs I would create for them. This is a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, flames will be ignored. Any references to characters in real-life or fiction are purely coincidental. If I could make money out of my ideas, it would be nice...

Oum Damn It!

* * *

 **Date Published:** 28th November 2018

 **Chapter Title:** Lessons Part 1

* * *

 **~~ Scene 1 ~~**

 _Jaune sighed as he looked at the scene of men in armor drinking and laughing around the fire with a few dancing drunkenly in the make-shift camp in the forest near what he thought was the capital city of Vale. He had been having these odd dreams for the past few days now and he was starting to question whether he needed to see a doctor for this. The only reason he did not do so yet was because they were quite informative in some way and he was also curious whether these were really dreams or visions. After all dreams would not be this realistic for anyone, and the fact that he had been having these all this time meant something was really odd._

 _A loud guffaw drew his attention to a group of people sitting around one of the fires that was roasting some meat. At a thought, Jaune found himself just outside the ring of people listening to a story._

" _And so I broke the Griffin's spine with a well-aimed throw of my trusty spear before grabbing its head and giving it a good twist to break it off!" An old soldier with armor that had seen better days bellowed while spilling some mead from his jug. "It was not easy, I was struggling to find the herbs meant to heal my wounds but the beast would not let its bounty go so easily. It truly was a fight to the death!"_

" _Does he ever get tired of telling that story?" Jaune turned to find a young soldier with red hair and blue eyes groaning at the old soldier's story telling. "I am supposed to be learning how to fight, not be sleeping my ass out!"_

" _Now whatever do you mean?" Jaune smirked at the familiar voice of the warrior he had seen in these dreams for some time as the person in question came up in his usual attire of dark clothes and boots. The man offered a drink to the soldier who thanked him and took a big gulp of it._

" _I mean come on, all he does is relieve his old days of being a soldier fighting Grimm. He is not imparting any knowledge whatsoever!"_

" _Oh, is that so?" The warrior gave a knowing smirk."What if I say that he is imparting knowledge in a different manner?"_

" _Really, how is that done?" The young soldier asked flatly._

" _Think back to what he said two days ago about facing off against the five Beowolves. Before you think about that story, what are the common ways of taking them down?"_

" _If you are up against one, best way to do it is to take apart the limbs slowly before aiming for the head. If you are against a pack, you would need at least one other person with you to watch your back. Two or more Beowolves would mean you take out one before the other, ideally in an environment that does not have too much cover for them to ambush you." The soldier repeated his teachings while taking a sip from his drink._

" _Okay, now think back to the story. What are the methods?"_

" _You mean the bit where the old man used a halibut to kill the Grimm by slapping it in the face?" The soldier raised an eyebrow at the warrior._

" _Aside from that." The warrior rolled his eyes in good humor. "There was something else, what about the part where he led the Grimm into the valley?" The soldier paused as he took a slow sip of the drink, frowning as he thought back about the information._

" _That might sound feasible, what with him using the terrain as a way to force the Beowolves into single file and letting him pick them off one by one."_

" _That is that, but he also told you about the usage of a certain herb." The warrior prompted him._

" _You mean the sage used for burning to make them tipsy?" The soldier asked with a confused expression. "That can't be true."_

" _Actually it is." The warrior replied back. "I was in the area of his story and was curious enough to check, and low-behold there is a stash of those herbs and he was not talking bullshit on the effects. I only lit one up and a pack of Boarbatusks started acting like party night in Mistral."_

" _You have got to be kidding me!" The soldier exclaimed loudly, unwittingly drawing some attention to them. The warrior waved to them that nothing was wrong before trying to calm his friend down._

" _Nope, it is the truth."_

" _..." The soldier gawked at him while alternating his glance at the old man who was now spinning a tale of him fighting against a Goliath while on top of a Nevermore. With a grimace, he drank the remainder of his drink in one gulp. "Then why…"_

" _Why he does not bother giving you straight facts and just keeps making the stories sound so outrageous?" The warrior completed his question, to which the soldier nodded. "Let me ask you, what do you know of his old vocation?"_

" _The old man belonged to the 22_ _nd_ _regiment of the Border Corps, and they were some of the toughest fighters of the group." The soldier started to repeat what information he had. "They were the key to winning the battle of Numere, the old border around the valleys that separated Vale from Vacuo."_

" _They were also wiped out when the Grimm Horde took them by surprise." the warrior nodded at the soldier's expression. "The regiment had finished their fight with the enemy at that time, but they had lost a few men, were exhausted and running low on supplies. You can imagine how low morale was at that time, it did not take much for the Grimm to finish the job." the warrior nodded his head at the old soldier. "He is the only survivor of the regiment, word was he was trapped in the cracks of the hills for three days straight with only water and broken weaponry to keep him alive. By the time reinforcements arrived, they found him surrounded with the corpses of his fellow soldiers and the Grimm."_

" _Shit." The soldier looked to the old man with renewed eyes of respect and pity._

" _He was not the same since. He had to be partially discharged due to the nervous breakdown he had." The warrior continued to answer. "It was after seeing one of the doctors dealing with PTSD that he decided to teach in a manner that would be both instructive and at the same time less depressing."_

" _Hence the outrageous story telling." The soldier remarked. Jaune was listening too deeply to note that his surroundings were blurring and fading away, only the sight of the fire disappearing and the soldier's figure starting to turn to dust keyed him into the bit that the dream / vision was ending._

" _That is correct. People need different ways to handle stress in times of war, his is just story-telling with a side dose of teaching to ensure the next generation don't make his mistakes while not getting them depressed and uncertain of fighting in the front lines." The warrior shut his eyes just as the soldier disappeared along with the scene, leaving Jaune alone with him. "The lesson in this..." the warrior looked up and straight at Jaune._

" _ **Sometimes, you just need to read between the lines to get the information."**_

 **~~ Scene 2 ~~**

"WAKE UP SLEEPYHEAD!"

Jaune groaned as he took the blanket and covered his head under it, resisting the calls to wake up and wanting to go back into Morpheus's embrace. But the owner of the voice was not to be denied and made her presence known by jumping right into his bed.

"GARH!" Jaune almost felt his eyes bulging out of his eye sockets when Nora's legs impacted against his stomach with full weight of her body, and he was sure that the bed frame actually bent under the strain.

"Nora!" Ren came forward to grab Nora away, leaving Jaune to roll off the bed and hit the floor hard, groaning as he clutched his stomach in a fetal position. "What did I say about this?"

"Never jump on someone in bed?" Nora scratched the back of her head while she was still held in the air.

"Yes." Ren nodded with the flattest tone possible.

"Erm~ Oops?" Nora let out a nervous laugh while tilting her head. "Sorry Jaune." The leader in question could only groan more in return as his aura set out to repair the damage.

"Jaune, do you need to see the doctor?" Pyrrha sked with deep concern on her face.

"Nope, I'm good." Jaune raised a shaking thumbs-up. "Just need a moment to breathe."

"Hopefully not too long Jaune. Today is the start of our real lessons." Ren let Nora down and directed a look at her that caused an automatic reaction in the form of a salute. He nodded before looking to Jaune. "At least we still have some time, if we leave in five minutes we can have a nice long breakfast before Grimm Studies."

"Sounds good. Be there in a minute… or five." Jaune wheezed as he got up from the floor and made his way to the bathroom to wash up. He waved away Pyrrha's request to stay behind to check up on him, stating he was fine before he locked the door.

' _Damn, Nora is heavy~'_

Thank goodness he only thought of that after they left, because women seemed to have that sixth sense to know when they were being talked about, especially when one mentions their weight. His sisters were extremely sensitive on that bit. Jaune shuddered as he started to brush his teeth, letting his mind wander back to the dream he had.

In a sense, Jaune was getting a little worried about these dreams he had for the past few days, they felt a little too real for him and there have been occasions he had to question his health and at times his own sanity. It also does not help with his situation when he started having odd visions during his fights or training, when it felt that he was experiencing the life of another person instead of his own. Without meaning to, he had started to take notes about his dreams to see if there were patterns that would help him identify the issue and the occasional bits that talked of fighting or training. Those at least helped him with his own weapons.

' _I wonder if this has to do with my unlocking of the Aura?'_ Jaune thought as he spat out the toothpaste and rinsed his mouth. For the few days they had it easy while Professor Port and Doctor Oobleck were out in the forest dealing with the catacombs and Grimm Pyrrha and him had found, so they ended up having a few more lectures by other professors. Miss Goodwitch also planned some lessons of her own involving how huntsmen should conduct themselves in the kingdoms, something she admitted to them she did not have much chances to try out over the years. Privately she had also approached Jaune to offer the private lessons, stating that his irregular training was too risky and she was going to ensure that he does not slack off on his training.

This was something that Jaune was very happy and unwittingly admitted that he wished he had proper training and encouragement from his parents, a fact that made Glynda looked at him with slight pity. She was very helpful in pointing out his mistakes when he was using Crocea Mors, though had expressed some confusion regarding his usage of Crimson Blitz as he seemed to have some better handling with it than his original weapons.

He was honestly not sure how to feel about that.

But thanks to her and Pyrrha once she was brought in to assist, Jaune started learning a lot more on Aura, and the other ability called Semblances, something that was unique to everyone in the academy. Normally one would only access that feature after a few years, but Pyrrha had said that he had a lot of Aura, a lot more than most of their cohorts. Even Glynda had remarked that his reserves were unusual for someone who just had his aura unlocked recently, so perhaps there could be something to it?

Jaune merely shrugged as he changed into his uniform, grabbed his bag and went out of the dormitory to meet the others for breakfast. He would think about that later, right now he needed food for the day. Given what he had heard about the professor of Grimm Studies, he needed something in case he called for volunteers, but evidently he was a windbag when doing his lectures?

It can't be that bad, can it?

 **~~ Scene 3 ~~**

Scratch that idea, he was so wrong.

The moment Professor Peter Port opened his mouth, the class began their journey back into the land of Morpheus, a few of them already snoring lightly in the classroom. On his side, Yang and Nora had succumbed to the melody of Port's long-winded lecture, Blake was reading some book with the textbook blocking it from the professor's view, Ruby was doodling on her notebook, Ren seemed to have mastered the art of sleeping with his eyes open, while Pyrrha and Weiss appeared to be the only ones barely trying to be coherent and write down notes, key words being 'barely trying' as Weiss seemed more frustrated as Port droned on and unless he was imagining it, Jaune could see a hint of drool threatening to flow from Pyrrha's mouth while she gazed at the board with glassy eyes.

He should take a picture of that just for the fun of it.

As for Jaune himself, he was contemplating using his bag as his pillow and go back to sleep. Honestly the man was supposed to be the leading expert in Grimm extermination, yet he was just relieving his old life stories. What was the point of him trying to tell them about fighting a Boarbatusk with a shoe and a stick? Was there any real information in there to actually kill a Grimm? This was just bull...

' _ **Sometimes, you just need to read between the lines to get the information.'**_

Jaune narrowed his eyes at that mental reminder, his drowsiness now gone and replaced with cautious consideration. If he looked at the professor in some manner, he did resemble the old soldier from his dream, and he does enjoy being oddly bombastic in his descriptions, and now that he was listening in to it, Jaune noted that the professor was emphasizing on some portions of the story when dealing with the Grimm and he looked somewhat disappointed when he noted them not paying attention.

Maybe…

Jaune pushed himself off the bag, grabbed his notebook and a pen, and started to pen down random bits of his story alongside possible interpretations of those words. He did not notice Weiss and Pyrrha turning to look at him with surprise or Port to gain a smile at his actions.

"… Grabbed the tusks and gave the beast a great throw..."

' _Grabbing the tusks of a Boarbatusk just before it could spin stalls it enough to throw, has a hard time to get back up so take the chance to stab it.'_

"… Finding the dandelions of Cornelia wasn't easy, it took a long and perilous journey to climb the hills and search within the caves of Atlas to get them..."

' _Cornelia dandelions grow in the outskirts of Atlas, found in caves and only in certain seasons when the snow fall is low. But it could be worth it if you want to treat some wounds infected by some of the Grimm species out there.'_

".. The pack could only cower in fear as I took out the Alpha's hind legs with my trusty weapon..."

' _Taking out the hind legs of the Beowolf by aiming for the joints will slow it down, but risky due to the speed. Consider Nora's grenades for softening?'_

"… The creature was no match for the punching technique passed down the Port Family Line for many generations!"

' _I have no idea what the fuck does that mean!'_

After some rather distracting and confusing minutes, Jaune paused in his writing to look at the text he had written. Now that he had written them out and considered his thoughts, there was actually some decent information hidden. Granted he was still not sure if any of it was true, but if one did looked between the lines, there might actually be something. Jaune nodded as he checked his interpretations before raising his head to get the next bit of possible information only to find one Peter Port next to him.

"RARG!" Jaune's startled yell and subsequent falling from his chair woke some of the class from their stupor, a few looking around with dumb expressions. Peter only chuckled as he looked down and nodded in approval at the notes taken.

"Very good, Mr Arc. You are able to get some of the points in." Peter pointed to one of the interpretations he made regarding a Beowolf. "You are correct in your interpretations regarding taking out the Alpha, and you have the novel idea of using one of your team's assets to take the Grimm out efficiently. Hmm~ curious..." The professor turned to regard Jaune with a cursory eye as the teen got back on to his chair. "Let me ask you this. How would you determine an Alpha from the pack, especially if they are closer in age?"

"Erm..." Jaune fumbled slightly while noting some of the class were now paying attention to their conversation, and rather irritatingly some were snickering about him getting humiliated. Well then, time to bust out some bubbles.

"Based on behavioral patterns, if one is more dominant in the group, they tend to exert more pressure on the weaker members. There are also small features on its body and armor that would show the creature's position in the group." Jaune answered that while thanking his dreams for the answer.

"True, but hypothetically speaking, if everyone of them looks the same – meaning no size difference or markings – and mostly behaves the same, how can you tell the Alpha from the rest?" Peter asked with a wiggle of his mustache.

"Well, this is just a theory, but the Grimm take after animals more than just their features, they also take after their behavior. So in that line of thinking, you could try to challenge the Alpha Beowolf as there is a chance they follow the animal kingdom's method of thinking where the Alpha must accept the challenge or risk the loss of its pack from inaction. With that, the other creatures should not interfere and if you can defeat the Alpha, they would basically tear each other apart to gain control, giving me a chance to fight them with fewer numbers." Jaune gave that answer while trying to recall his lessons from his uncle and from the dreams.

Everyone in the classroom at this point was awake and listening to his explanation, a few looking at him as though he was mad to think that way. A loud guffaw drew their attention to Professor Port who was clutching his round belly and letting out a joyous laugh.

"Yes! That is the correct answer, Mr Arc. Very good indeed!" The man complimented the teen while looking at him with a curious light in his eyes. "I must say that it is the first time anyone got that question right, and a first year at that as well!"

"Wait, how is that possible?" Weiss asked while looking dumbfounded. "Grimm should not be acting in that manner, they are mindless. Furthermore, you still need to deal with the Alpha and the rest of the pack, that alone carries a lot of risk!"

"Indeed you are correct, Miss Schnee." Professor Port answered as he turned to her. "It would be risky, but as Mr Arc has stated, the creatures do follow other characteristics aside from their appearance. Grimm when one looks at it after some time are merely beings of instincts and evil that are quite predictable, with only the Alpha as the main challenge since they have lived long enough to start making decisions. You just need to consider what are the likely attributes they would have before you fight them, they may not seem like much to you at first glance but every little counts." He paused as he looked at everyone in the eye. "Remember this, you are huntsmen representing the people in and out of the kingdoms, your strength is more than just to take out a few Grimm, it is seen as a badge to rally your own troops. The older Grimm understand this to a degree, so if you are facing them with a pack, you can try to challenge them, but note that you must be able to back it up so that the leader will order his group to not interfere."

Weiss slumped on her chair, clearly trying to process the idea that machoism applied to the Grimm of all things while others started to scribble down on their notebooks frantically, trying to make the most of this rare moment that the teacher was not bragging and actually giving facts.

"Seeing as we have a fair amount of time, I like to do something a little different today." Professor Port proclaimed as he looked at Jaune and Weiss. "I believe everyone here has mixed opinions regarding what was being discussed here, so let's put that to the test shall we? Can I ask Miss Schnee and Mister Arc for a demonstration?" The two students looked at each other with raised eyebrows before giving a nod to the professor. "Excellent! I will go and prepare the stage, so you two go and grab your equipment."

Jaune and Weiss nodded and started making their way to the locker room while the other students started to chatter, their earlier lethargicness now forgotten in favor for the upcoming performance. There were a few however who were being rude by betting who would get 'creamed' by the Grimm, and it did not help Jaune's confidence.

"Good luck Weiss." Jaune waved to Weiss before they entered their respective locker rooms. The white-themed girl turned to look at him with an odd expression before nodding with a light smile and going into the room. Jaune moved on to his locker where he quickly changed into his huntsman clothes and armor.

' _Hmm~ maybe I should consider getting a new set of armor in the future?'_ Jaune thought as he tightened the straps before grabbing Crocea Mors and clipping it to his belt. As he grabbed the locker door he looked at the other weapon that was currently inside, now cleaned up, fixed and given a new shine and sheath.

' _Should I take this along? Why not, with my luck Crocea Mors could be knocked out of my hands?'_

With that thought, he grabbed Crimson Blitz from its holder and secured it to his back before closing the locker door and making his way to the arena where the professor was waiting for them both.

Perhaps it was his nerves, but he could have sworn the new weapon vibrated lightly as he walked out into the classroom.

 **~~ Scene 4 ~~**

 **~~ Act 1 ~~**

"Well at least we get some action for the day." Yang leaned forward in eager anticipation at the stage that was now being divided down the middle to cater to two fighters at the same time, though judging from the lone cage and likely for the safety of the students the professor would make them fight one at a time.

"Yeah, and what's more it is both of our teams kicking ass today!" Nora cheered before digging into her bag and bringing out foam fingers and banners. "We should cheer them on!"

"How?" Blake blinked before looking to Ren who merely shook his head while shrugging.

"Don't ask, you can save your sanity." Ren spoke with a tone that hinted at long suffering under Nora's madness. The others looked to each other with slightly fearful expressions before taking the items from Nora.

"Oh here comes Weiss!" Ruby pointed at the door where Weiss just walked out, her white clothing light swaying as she seemed to strut like she was on a catwalk with her weapon held in her hand like a fencer, her eyes set on the cage. "Oh and I think Jaune is here as well!" Pyrrha turned to look at the door again only to blink as a shadowy figure appeared at the entrance with glowing eyes. It reminded her of the same apparition that appeared around Jaune a few times, but this one was more defined than before. While she could not see the face, she could tell the figure had spiky hair that seemed unnatural spiked. He wore a high collar indigo shirt, black pants and dark boots that appeared to be steel-tipped, over which he had some type of dark robe covering his left leg that extended to his ankles. On his left side, one sole pauldron sat on his shoulder which held the dark cloth covering his entire left arm.

Another blink revealed Jaune coming out with Crocea Mors attached to his hip and Crimson Blitz stuck to his back.

What was that earlier?

"Oh he got Crimson Blitz out as well. Maybe he can use it later!" Ruby was bouncing in her seat as she alternated her sights on her two friends.

"Yeah..." Pyrrha softly replied as she looked at Jaune once more before noting how Blake who was seated in front was getting oddly tensed when looking down at the stage. Taking a glance around her, Pyrrha noted other students were also getting oddly agitated for some reason and were looking at Jaune with nervous eyes.

"You noticed it too?" A soft voice prompted her to turn to Ren who was looking at the stage steadily while whispering. "Something is getting them a little riled up, and it seems that the cause may come from Jaune's weapons."

"Why do you say that?" Pyrrha frowned as she looked at Jaune who was giving a practice swing with Crocea Mors.

"I have noted the odd behavior for the past few days and it only ever comes out when Jaune has Crimson Blitz equipped." Ren answered as he took a cursory glance at the students. "At first I had thought it was due to the footage where Jaune took out the Death Stalker with one slash, but he does not get such an adverse reaction with Crocea Mors. Furthermore there is something inherently wrong with it." He looked to Pyrrha with a side glance. "Got any cuts from it so far?"

"So I am not the only one who thought it was weird." Pyrrha stated as a matter of fact.

"Nope, for now it seems you, me and recently Ruby are the only ones that don't get hurt handling it aside from Jaune. The only pattern I see with those who do get cuts is along the lines of people who seemed to pick on him or any of us. It is as if it attacks anyone who has issues with him and wants to hurt him." Ren answered.

"Including Nora?" The red-haired spartan raised an eyebrow.

"Well perhaps it is a case of rough-housing or bad attitude, but that is how I imagine it." Ren shrugged. "Since we are talking on this, notice another pattern?"

"The ones getting affected the most are Faunus?" Pyrrha mentioned while taking another glance.

"Yup, there are a couple of humans but majority are Faunus who always tensed up each time he has that weapon out. It is like some instinct is telling them there is something wrong." Ren paused before subtly pointing a finger at Blake who was still looking at Jaune with narrowed eyes and tensed back. Pyrrha gave a light nod in agreement.

Looks like there was something more to Miss Belladonna than it meets the eye.

 **~~ Act 2 ~~**

Jaune lightly tapped his foot on the ground as he awaited his turn to face a Grimm. He would admit that he was quite nervous for his turn, after all his first fight with a Grimm was at initiation, and that was an anomaly in itself since he had to face off against a supposedly extinct species that was not native to Vale and an Elder Death Stalker that wanted a taste of his skinny behind. He had watched videos of his sister taking out Grimm before, but that was still not a good manner of learning, so this would be his first hands-on experience of sorts. He could only adjust himself and looked at Weiss dealing with her Boarbatusk in hopes of getting some tips.

That said, Jaune frowned at the hostility Weiss was displaying towards Ruby. Granted Ruby could be quieter with her shouts and perhaps better timed when the Grimm was not attacking Weiss, but the advice given was sound and would help to end the fight faster. Yet it seemed that Ruby giving the advice kept making Weiss more angry and distracted, and in the process made the Grimm stronger and faster from all the negative emotions being generated.

' _Pride...'_

When he was younger, Jaune would have thought of rejecting any forms of help to hang on to his pride, but his grandfather and uncle had taken him aside to warn him of the dangers of pride. That part he was most thankful sine it helped him realize he needed proper training.

"Well done, Miss Schnee! Looks like we have a huntress in the making!" Professor Port's boisterous voice broke his thoughts and drew his attention to the stage where Weiss stood victorious over the decaying Grimm, her expression being a mix of pride and irritation. "Now that round is done, time for the next act!" Peter Port turned to Jaune with a wriggle of his mustache. "Let's see you test the theory out shall we!" With that, the professor turned to the cage that was on his side of the stage and removed the lock with a hard hit from his battle axe. Jaune readied himself as he waited for the Grimm to come out.

Oh boy~

Out of the cage came three Beowolves, all looking identical and giving the same hungry look at everyone. At least until one turned to look at him, that was when it stilled and narrowed its eyes before letting out a bark to alert the other two that he was in front of them.

Okay, he had found the Alpha.

Jaune decided he needed the advantage so he backed himself into a corner where he still had room to dodge two or more if one decided to lunge while keeping his back protected from attacks. It was a good decision as it stopped the Grimm from trying to make a circle around him, made clear with one of the Beowolf growling in irritation. That one took a leap at him with its jaws open wide, but Jaune could tell that one was just the distraction and the real attacker was coming at the other side so he held his shield tight and angled his body such that when the Grimm in front of him was close enough he ran forward to push the Grimm off and sent crashing into the other Grimm that was coming from behind. That gave Jaune enough time to look at the Alpha which was on the outer rim of the ring, just looking at him with steady eyes and not doing any action.

Just like the Death Stalker from before.

Jaune did not think much after as the two behind him got untangled and were now gunning for him. Jaune dodged to the side while angling his blade just right so that the Grimm that leaped above him got cut, resulting in the Grimm roaring in pain as it hit the ground hard. With the other distracted, Jaune faced the Alpha and tried the only idea he had to issue a challenge. He raised his shield and banged his blade at it, glaring at it with as much intensity as he could.

It seemed to have worked as the Alpha perked up and its eyes glowed for a moment before letting out a growl, stopping the other two from exacting their revenge. The Grimm got up and started to circle around Jaune who did the same but ensuring the other Beowolves were in his sights in case they did not follow his idea of the pack mentality. There was no need for that as the two were away from them a fair distance although the injured one was practically snarling at him.

Oops~

He did not have to wait too long as the Alpha shifted and leaped forward in a great burst of energy, forcing him to bear the weight of the blow on his shield as it slammed into him and pushed him back a few feet. He grunted heavily and shifted his weight to dodge the paw aimed for his side, using the sword to nick the body through the gaps of its bone armor. He did not get much chance to do another as the Alpha twisted and punched him in the chest, sending him off his feet and slamming into the ground.

"Oh dear, that would be a hard blow Mr Arc, best to get back up quickly!" Professor Port yelled over the cheering done by his team and the course-mates, although there were a couple of jeers from the more unsavory types. Jaune ignored them as he got back to his feet and steadied himself in time to block another salvo, only this time Jaune had plunged his blade into the ground so that he would not be pushed back. In this case it was a good thing as he had underestimated the strength of his sword and the Grimm had its momentum stopped almost instantaneous. The confusion was evident enough in its eyes and that gave Jaune a chance to bash it in the face before pulling out the sword and slashing across, removing the bottom jaw in the process.

" **RRRRROOOORRGGG!"** The Alpha let out a pained roar as it leaped away from Jaune, the mouth bleeding a fair amount of black blood while the piece of jaw on the ground started to turn to ash. The Alpha glared at Jaune with the promise of pain to be inflicted on him before it disappeared from his sight. It was only thanks to Ruby's shouting of it coming from the side that saved Jaune from becoming a smear on the wall as he managed to pick up his shield in time to block the blow aimed for his head, but it did throw him off his feet and against the wall again, this time making him lose his grip on his sword.

"Okay, now what would you do without a sword?" Professor Port called out to him, notably with a hint of caution in his tone, likely preparing to step in if he needed to. Jaune gritted his teeth as he got up and readied his shield as he pondered his options. He was not going to lose this fight, he got in to Beacon on his own strength and with the help of others, he would not let them down!

With that, he reached behind his back, grabbed Crimson Blitz tightly and pulled it out hard, the blade singing with the promise of taking down its enemies.

That definitely got the attention of the Alpha and the other two Beowolves waiting on the sides, making them oddly more agitated, with the Alpha getting into a crouch and crushing the ground with its claws. The blonde knight got into a stance that he normally would with his usual blade with a modification suggested by Pyrrha for using Crimson Blitz with the shield portion of Crocea Mors. In that moment, Jaune experienced yet another odd vision, this time though was a case of the Alpha blurring and having crimson lines that ran along its body with a red circle around the chest where the heart would probably be, just like that time with the Centipods.

Then the Beowolf Alpha leaped forward with its arms wide to take a swipe at him, making him react faster than he expected and swung Crimson Blitz hard, cutting through the lines around the limbs and partially on the chest. The blood that splattered onto his shield and part of his face broke the vision and Jaune found himself looking at an Alpha that had its front legs removed and a good portion of its chest cut to reveal some of the organs beneath it in a gruesome manner that caused some of the audience to puke their breakfast.

Jaune did not have much time to appreciate as the other two decided that the fight was over and joined in on the hunt, forcing him to take cover behind his shield and taking a couple of pot-shots at them. He was marginally successful until the point where the two decided to take a swipe at him at the same time, forcing him back and making him lose his shield this time.

' _Damn it!'_ Jaune cursed as he lost his balance and crouched down on the ground to steady himself before turning around. As he did, his sight changed again and he found himself in a barren forest facing off with a group of Beowolves around him.

' _Not again! Come on,_ _not now_ _!'_ Jaune thought to himself as he noted the Grimm surrounding him. Jaune was getting a little tired at this point and it did not help that the vision was too realistic for him to ignore. Movement at the corner drew his attention to two Beowolves who leaped forward with mouths wide open, and for a brief movement he could have sworn he saw the warrior from his dreams in front of him in a similar position and went about swinging a blade in his hand. His body moved automatically in a circle and Crimson Blitz sliced through the air and through the Beowolves with an audible sound. Without stopping his motion, Jaune raised his weapon with both hands and brought it down on the Beowolf that took the chance to try and attack him, creating a thin beam of crimson light that fired off from his weapon and sliced through the Beowolf right down the middle, causing both halves to fly past Jaune and getting some blood split on his face.

"Well done Mr Arc!" The voice of Professor Port seemed to be the trigger for the vision to end and Jaune found himself back in the classroom where the round professor made his way to him in excitement while his fellow hunters cheered loudly at his work. "I have never seen such skill in handling Grimm, and that technique to split the Grimm in half is most certainly impressive!"

"Huh?" Jaune blinked before turning to find the two Beowolf Betas cut horizontally with at least one of their limbs removed in similar fashion, while the Beowolf Alpha was most certainly dead being cut in half down the middle. That reminded Jaune of the blood on his face and it made him feel a little queasy.

"Whoa, easy there my lad." Port lightly placed a hand on his shoulder to steady him. "I would guess that the adrenaline is now wearing out, so you might need to take a breather before you do anymore fighting." Jaune could only nod as he took deep breaths to calm himself and not look at the corpses in front of him. He would have to tackle that issue with visions sooner or later.

"So my fair students, you have just witnessed two different examples of dealing with Grimm!" Professor Port turned to the students still seated. "Miss Schnee has demonstrated how one would deal with a speed type Grimm, and what could happen if one is not careful in the field at times." Weiss growled under her breath while glaring at Ruby. "Mister Arc had demonstrated the theory about the behavior of the Grimm and how targeting the Alpha could help in some cases, but worth noting that the younger an Alpha, the less control it has on its pack as shown earlier when the others decided to gang up on Mister Arc after the Alpha got its jaw removed. Also worth mentioning is that currently these are technically young Beowolves to showcase the pack mentality, in the outskirts and Grimmlands you will be facing older Grimm in larger numbers and there are Grimm that don't necessarily conform to the pack mentality like the King Taijitu, so it is important for you to know what Grimm you are tackling and plan carefully with your team." The bell rang signifying the end of the lesson. "And that is it for the day. Please read up on chapter 2 of your textbook, there will be something about the topic next lesson." He called out as the students packed their stuff and started making their way out of the classroom, each one talking quite amicably and comparing notes on the earlier

"Erm Professor?" Jaune turned to Peter Port who looked at him with a raised eyebrow. He glanced briefly at Weiss who was about to leave and at Ruby who was looking a little down-casted. "This is an odd request, but..."

"I believe I know what you wish to inquire." Peter raised one finger as he turned. "May Team RWBY stay behind for a brief moment? I wish to clarify something." The group in question looked at each other puzzled except for Weiss who looked ready to throw a tantrum as she continued to the locker room to change her clothes. "Does that satisfy you, Mr Arc?" The old hunter whispered softly to the teen.

"Yes, thank you for that." Jaune paused before asking another question. "There is also something I wanted to ask about your lecture. Forgive me if I am being rude or insensitive, but per chance you are embellishing the story to test us?" The old man chuckled before opening his eyes, and it just hit Jaune that the old man did not open his eyes once for the whole lesson.

"Looks like I was right on the money about you, you seemed to have realized the method I did it, can you guess why?"

"Well as stated you did it to test us, but at the same time..." Jaune shuffled awkwardly as he tried to phrase his words without insulting the huntsman. "I get the feeling you have experienced some hardships in the past that could be traumatic for those who have not experienced it before, so you wish to help us get through, but the only way to do it is through story-telling?"

"Indeed young man, indeed." Peter nodded gravely. "I will not lie to you, the life of a huntsman is not an easy road. Most seem to buy the propaganda that being a huntsman is a way of getting fame, status and fortune, and that we are at peace." The old man snorted rather loudly at that statement. "They fail to realize that the dangers don't lurk in the arena or the typical forest, but it shows up outside of the kingdom where a single mistake could bring about the horde after you and anyone around you. As odd as it sounds, you need more than courage. It is ludicrous to believe that you could face the Grimm without fear, what you need is to face your fears and work alongside it if not accept it as opposed to just bashing it. We may have Aura, but we are not invincible." The old man chuckled at this point. "I believe Professor Goodwitch would be teaching you that on her first lesson of Combat."

"I see, thank you for answering my question." Jaune bowed and was about to leave when Peter stopped him for a moment.

"I suppose I should be thanking your grandfather about that insight?" The old man queried Jaune with an air of something cautious that made Jaune a little uneasy.

"Well, my grandfather mostly, but also my uncle and my eldest sister helped to warn me." Jaune paused before adding "There was another person who helped me but he has passed away quite a few years ago. He was the one who taught me about not taking things at face value and try to read between the lines."

"And that man was very wise it would seem." Peter hummed in agreement. "A pity he has passed away else I would have enjoyed talking to him."

"I believe he would have liked that." Jaune smiled.

"Well best to get moving." Peter wrote a quick note on a piece of paper and handed it to Jaune. "I have held you back for a lot longer than expected, hang on to this in case you are late for your next lesson."

"Thank you professor." Jaune accepted the paper graciously. He really did not need to be late for his first day of lessons.

"Off you go, time for me to deal with another student." Peter said as Team RWBY came with Weiss. Jaune nodded and quickly left the classroom, giving an encouraging smile at them before meeting his team outside to go the next class. But as they walked while Nora was running her mouth at a ten miles per second about his fight with the Grimm, one thing still hung at the back of his mind.

The vision he had during that fight was more detailed and a little too realistic for his liking, and Jaune got the bad feeling that if he could not get a handle on this, something could happen that might endanger his team.

He might consider seeing the doctor later in the afternoon...

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0-0-0-0

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Hello there, here's the latest chapter for this story. Apologies for the lateness, I had to edit this chapter ten times to get it to where I wanted and even now I am not sure if it is 'up there' so to say.

I wanted to show how Jaune is getting affected without the whole 'possession of the soul/body' that we get from other fanfics that feature weapons or Ozpin. Especially the latter based on the latest volume of the series, I am getting 'What the fuck?!' vibes from it with all the info coming in. So I am showing my version, and for now I don't plan on any actual possession, maybe some influence but still Jaune.

Side note, I am planning to bring forth one of my melting pot ideas, still deciding on the one so look out for it. And as always, please R-&-R and let me know how this goes, and hopefully you stick around for me to bring out another chapter, hopefully before the end of the year.

And I put my pen down for now.


	6. Lessons Part 2

**Disclaimer:**

The works of Rooster-Teeth and their characters are their own and that of the mighty Oum. The only thing I own are the one-shot ideas that popped into my head and whatever OCs I would create for them. This is a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, flames will be ignored. Any references to characters in real-life or fiction are purely coincidental. If I could make money out of my ideas, it would be nice...

Oum Damn It!

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 **Date Published:** 9th December 2018

 **Chapter Title:** Lessons Part 2

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 **~~ Scene 1 ~~**

"Hmm..." A certain Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck hummed as he lightly brushed away some dirt from a pillar with a brush, pausing every so often to get a better look at the etchings made on it and taking notes. He had been at this for close to an hour now but he was meticulous to keep his excitement back to ensure he did not damage the pillar by accident. This was after all the first crypt in a long time to be found near the capital of Vale and he would be damned if he damaged something under his watch.

"Fascinating, isn't it?" Oobleck paused in the middle of brushing some earth off a symbol he suspected to be proof of a compass pointing to a settlement around Mountain Glenn and turned to find a fellow huntsman and historian hobbyist looking around with a keen eye. "I am so glad you brought me here, it has been some time since I have been at a dig."

"Indeed, I feel that this is something I would need some help with." Oobleck answered with a nod. He was a well-known historian, trekker and occasional explorer in Vale, but he also knew that hubris was a sin in the eye of relic restoration, so he was not ashamed to get extra help for excavations, and for something that could lead fill in the blanks for Vale's history books, this was one matter he was not taking a lot chances with. He would have the final say on it of course, but he would need whatever help he could get.

"And you said it was two students who stumbled upon this?" The huntsman peered at a skeleton with a cursory eye, not carrying for the centipede that appeared out of an eye-socket and crawled to the ground.

"Yes, Mr Arc and Miss Nikos were undertaking their initiation when they came here and found the Centipods." Oobleck shivered at the memory of the Grimm when he first made contact with it upon their arrival. There were many different types of Grimm that could easily qualify for the 'Boogey-man' group as coined by some of the students, but the Centipods held a special place in his heart as the creature that haunts nightmares since they were known to make their prey suffer and in the case of humans, often left them just barely alive for them to lay their eggs in them so that the young could hatch and devour them. Yes that was right, of all the Grimm in Remnant, the Centipods were perhaps the only known species to actually eat humans, if not for nutrition then perhaps for sadism.

Honestly those two teens were lucky to find an actual weakness to them before they got overrun, he should consider giving them higher grades if they had one less than satisfactory essay.

"I have to say, they must have the luck of the devil to not only deal with the Grimm but to find this catacomb. Are there any other levels or hidden treasures?" The huntsman turned to him.

"It has been slow going, from what we could tell the Death Stalker that used to live in these caves tore down quite a fair of bit of the rocks to get out of the mountain, and the Centipods also destroyed a fair bit of the supports over the years and later finished the job when they went after the students." Oobleck answered as he finished writing down the notes and dusting himself off. "What I can say is that the catacombs around here are a lot bigger than anticipated, and early scans of the area suggest that there may be at least three more levels underneath us and that these span a lot further than we originally expected."

The huntsman let out a soft whistle at that tidbit. "That sounds quite extensive."

"Exactly, I am hoping this does not take too much time, I do need to get back to the academy to do my teachings, even if I am reluctant to leave this in the middle of the excavation." Oobleck sighed as he considered the timing. Normally Ozzpin would give extensions if he were overseas or in excavations deemed too important to leave, but in this case he was already pushing the deadline a fair bit and if not Ozpin, Glynda would likely be the one chasing after him.

"Tough luck." The huntsman shook his head in good humor. He then frowned before pointing a finger behind Oobleck. "Erm, what are those guys doing with those chains?" The historian turned to find a few of his students dragging a thick chain into the chamber, each with determined expressions on them. It took Oobleck a few seconds to realize their intentions and made him shake his head in slight amusement and exasperation.

"They are trying to pull out the hammer."

"Hammer?" The huntsman looked to him with a raised eyebrow. Oobleck chuckled while motioning to him to follow the students. They walked a few feet before pausing at the entrance to the chamber where it was a lot larger to have an open floor and where the ground was evidently littered with the skeletons of the past and the weapons that were strewn all over the area. And this was perhaps the most perplexing to the historian slash huntsman.

Oobleck has been into many excavation sites and had seen some relics that had been well-preserved in time, but this was the first time when he had laid eyes on weaponry that dated roughly to the time of the Great War to be in pristine condition and still functional as seen with Jaune Arc's newly acquired Crimson Blitz. There was also an unusual matter where the vast majority of said weapons would not be removed from their resting places by any means. He had removed a few himself but those were 'degraded' from the ravages of time, but the rest resisting the attempts to move them still have their sharpened edges or shifting mechanisms intact.

One such weapon was a certain war hammer that had been hindering a bit of their excavation efforts due to its placement. It was half buried in the bedrock and what little that could be shown revealed it to be covered in symbols Oobleck recognized to be a mix of old cultures from Mistral and Mantle before it became Atlas. Initial scans failed to pick anything up much as something from it kept frying out the circuits in the devices, but one of those scans gave the indication that there was possibly a big ore of Lightning Dust embedded inside, something that surprised him as the amount of Dust inside had to be enough to power a building ten times over, and the fact that its power has not degraded with time suggested it was a very high grade Dust ore, something that attracted the attention of quite a few of the students and made them try to remove it from its placement.

What did get their attention was the amount of resistance it was putting up to not let anyone get it out; the rock around it seemed immune to their hacking or controlled blasting, and one with a strength enhancing Semblance ended up breaking his Aura and tearing the muscles of his arms. This sparked what appeared to be the start of a very odd competition where the students would take turns trying to lift the hammer with the same results and with differing injuries to each student. A total of ten had to be sent back to Beacon for a stay in the hospital wing. It then started getting more ridiculous with a few getting machinery to extract the hammer only to have that break into pieces while the hammer remained its place, the shine that came off it seemingly mocking them. At one point one of the few females tried an acid-based solution to melt the rock around the hammer to loosen it, but that only got the ground around it eaten with the rock still in place.

That was 2 days ago, now it seemed to be a matter of pride for the young huntsmen in training to get the hammer out by any means necessary. Oobleck watched them wrapped the chains around the handle and the rock itself while a few others put up steel partitions to ensure that if it did come loose, it would not damage any of the other relics or skeletons. That much was point to them and he was curious himself if this matter would work.

"Why are they doing that?" His friend asked watching the students putting what had to be an absurd number of chains around a mere war hammer.

"Let's put it simply that there are some relics here that are proving quite resistant to our excavation efforts." Oobleck could not help the amused tone in his words as he checked the measures taken to ensure the other items were not going to be damaged. It seemed that some of the students were not letting the issue get to their heads too much as they made sure that the partitions were reinforced with Earth Dust to ensure that any sudden release would not damage the other items.

That said, he was also getting rather frustrated with some of the resistance that the relics were putting up from getting removed. He had to wonder what happened here to give this type of response.

"Are you sure they should be doing that?" The huntsman had to stare at one student placing Dust grenades around the rock with the type of precision and determination normally meant for B-rank Grimm extermination missions. Were they taking this a little too far?

"Come with me, then you know why." Oobleck made his way back to the entrance of the entire catacomb system with the incredulous huntsman following suit, pausing to deal with the glare of the sun above him after a few hours of darkness in the cave. A few feet from the entrance, some of the students were attaching the other end of the chain to a pickup truck, securing it tightly to the flatbed of it.

"We are done on this end. How's the other end?" A second year student of his class called out as he dusted his hands off.

"They just got it done. We are ready to go!" A third year answered after checking his scroll.

"Alright let's get this started!" The second year motioned to the driver who was an old man with a beard and a mustache wearing a cap to start up the engine. The truck started to move forward, making the chain go taut before the truck started to stay in one spot while the tires spun wildly, throwing out smoke and gravel as the driver tried to give more power to the vehicle and the students cheered him on.

' _CRNK!'_

… At least until the flatbed completely ripped itself off the truck and got pulled back from the force, making the others go back a few steps to avoid getting hit by the oncoming flatbed as it crashed to the ground. The truck stopped a few away before the driver looked out of his window. "Did it work?"

That question set everyone off into laughing, with a few trying to get a hold of the others inside with limited success due to the hilarity of it all. Oobleck had to let out a chuckle at this point, it seemed nothing would budge the hammer, let alone the other weapons.

"Shit!" The huntsman swore as he looked at the scene. "You telling me this has been going on like this?"

"That is unfortunately correct, we just can't get any of those weapons out of the way." Oobleck replied. "At the rate it is going, we may as well cordon off the area so that we can consider converting it into an open-air exhibition for people to view. At the very least, we will make sure to clear the area a bit so that other historians can come along to examine."

"By Oum..." The huntsman scratched his head at the information. "So there is absolutely no way or no one who can remove them?" Oobleck was about to reply when he paused at that question. There was after all one who did remove one weapon that was in good shape and from the odd chatter he had heard, the weapon seemed to have an odd issue where people wound up getting small cuts from it.

Perhaps he could get that person to come and make the attempt to remove it, and in the process see if there is anything else that was hidden from them?

"There might be someone..."

 **~~ Scene 2 ~~**

"Jaune, is something the matter?" Jaune turned to Pyrrha who asked.

"I am not sure, I suddenly felt chills down my spine." Jaune let out another shudder as he felt another chill running down in a manner that reminded him of his elder sisters when they planned to dress him in their dresses, worse since Anita Arc was the fashion designer of the family and often used him or the younger sisters as her personal dress-up dummy.

 _Oh the horrors, don't say that they have planned a new dress for him to wear!_

"Jaune-Jaune, you looked like you are heading to the gallows." Nora poked a finger into his cheek.

"I might be in the future..." Jaune remarked in a dead tone.

"Hey guys, what's up?" The team turned to find Ruby and her team coming over to their table to join them for lunch. Jaune looked at how Weiss was interacting with Ruby since the previous day and from the looks of it, Professor Port was able to fix the problem or at the very least, get Weiss to channel her energy elsewhere. At least that helped.

"Jaune-Jaune is getting chills down his spine, I think he is getting sick." Nora said before turning to Ren. "I think he needs your special pancakes to get better Renny!"

"Nora, first of all he is not sick, he is just getting bad premonitions of what's to come." Ren spoke while looking to Jaune with a look that spoke of his understanding of his situation. "Two, he does not need special pancakes to get better."

"But Renny, pancakes can make anyone better!" Nora raised her arms high as she looked at him. It was a sort of a testament in the few days they had been in Beacon that the people around them were starting to ignore Nora altogether, chalking it up to her usual madness. "Pancakes can likely save humanity from the madness of vegetables!"

"Aha, sure… In the meantime." Ren placed a healthy dosage of salad onto her plate. "Eat your greens."

"Renny~" Nora whined while slumping against the table. Team RWBY looked at her for a moment before looking to her teammates who looked used to her behavior.

"Well, is everyone ready for the next lesson?" Yang tried to ignore the craziness that was Nora and looked to them. "This is after all our first real lesson for combat by Goodwitch."

"I think we are looking forward to it." Pyrrha answered as she took her coffee. "It has been quite a while before she was prepared to give us this lesson. We only ever gotten lectures from her on ethics and other matters not normally covered in the past."

"But doesn't Jaune here gets some 'private' lessons with you and Goodwitch the past few days?" Yang pointed a thumb at Jaune while wiggling her eyebrows. "Must be a very intensive lesson for Jaune if he needs you and Goodwitch to 'manage' him."

"Yang!" Ruby whined while Jaune and Pyrrha did their best to resemble tomatoes with their faces and Nora laughed like a mad woman.

"It's not like that. Jaune was given different instructions for his fighting style before he came here and his instructors were unable to complete them so Professor Goodwitch was given that task to ensure he completed them." Pyrrha answered that. Jaune merely nodded while privately thanking Ozpin for that excuse.

"You have not completed your training before coming here?" Weiss asked with a raised eyebrow.

"My grandfather and uncle are a little old fashioned." Jaune explained while mentally apologizing to his uncle and grandfather for stating they were old. "They prefer the old-school method of fighting and training as you can tell from my weaponry, and sadly I just got my aura unlocked recently. Add the fact that I don't know the necessary techniques means I am a little out of depths right now."

"Phew~ damn, your gramps and uncle must be something since you had to go through the Initiation with that much of a handicap." Yang remarked at that tidbit of information.

"They are, but at least they gave me some tips alongside my eldest sister." Jaune nodded his head.

"Yeah, the eldest of seven sisters~" Yang shook her head in disbelief while Ruby, Blake and Weiss nodded in acknowledgment. "Still trying to wrap my head around that."

"I know, Jaune's mum is a supermom!" Nora gave the proclamation while Jaune placed both hands to his face to hide his embarrassment.

"Ouch! Stop!" The pained yell stopped the conversation and drew their attention to a group of four surrounding a rabbit faunus who was protesting under duress as the biggest guy in armor yanked on her long ears.

"Oh great, those guys again..." Yang growled as she clenched her fists. The others had their own expressions of agreement and resentment towards the group with Jaune mentally sighing at this point.

Team Cardinal (CRDL), a group of guys led by one Cardin Winchester who seemed to have the ego the size of an Ursa, was a group that quickly established themselves as a bunch of troublemakers going around harassing other students. Jaune was one of their targets partly due to him looking the weakest of their two teams and his weapon cutting Cardin, which somehow translates to it being Jaune's fault despite Cardin being the one to grab Crimson Blitz without permission. But so far their efforts were not successful as Jaune seemed to have the devil's luck as Yang would put it. What did she mean by that?

First time Cardin tried to bully Jaune, he wanted to push him into a locker, but Jaune slipped on some oil and fell backwards, his leg tripping Cardin into the locker which sent him flying out to the forest.

Second attempt was CRDL wanting to dump expired milk on him, but he stopped to tie his shoelaces that came loose at the last second and they ended up dumping it on Goodwitch who happened to walk a little behind Jaune at that time. The woman had an apocalyptic expression as she assigned them detention in the form of cleanup duty for two full months while writing essays on disrespecting teachers.

Third attempt was them trying to hose him down with a lot of water, but that failed when Jaune was fiddling with his sheath and it accidentally configured itself into the shield which deflected the water back at them.

Since then, they had been very persistent in getting him or the others into some form of trouble, but have been less than successful either from his odd luck or from his team's watchful eyes. Nora for one was most insistent on breaking Cardin's legs and it said something about their persistence that Ren looked like he was considering the offer alongside Pyrrha since they kept harassing her for her looks and her partnership with him.

That 'leg-breaking' part was terrifying for him.

"It must be hard being a faunus." Yang was clearly trying to control her temper as she watched Cardin laugh loudly as he continued pulling on the girl's ears.

"It is despicable." Pyrrha answered with narrow eyes. "We should be fighting alongside one another yet it is people like Cardin that is giving reasons for others not to work together." Jaune was about to say something when his vision changed again and he found himself alone in an old decrepit castle at night. Based on the opening at the wall, he was in an area that had a lot of snow, likely Mantle or perhaps Vale during the winter period.

' _Oh great, not again?'_ Jaune groaned as he looked around him slowly. He had gone to the hospital wing to talk to the doctor about the visions, edited to a certain extent, but it was not very helpful since there was not much to go on. It was a little embarrassing at the start as the doctor assumed he was 'pent up' and needed release. He barely held back from yelling at the doctor when he denied that, made worse when the doctor actually asked if he was given 'The Talk' by his parents.

He was so glad that no one, especially his team or Team RWBY was around to hear that. He did not want to know what Yang would say.

After a few false starts, the doctor told him he should watch himself if these continued further and also to consider watching his actions as others might notice. What little he had gathered from the visions that happened in the day, the environment suited the situation of sorts so he could get away but he was mindful just in case.

' _So what type of situation would this be?'_

Jaune got that answer when he looked ahead where he last saw CRDL bullying the faunus and what he saw made his blood go cold with dread and hot with rage at the same time.

In front of him were four soldiers dressed in dark old-age armor lined with fur to keep out the cold, on top of which fur cloaks were draped on for further protection. In front of them was a young human woman who looked a lot like the rabbit faunus with her long brown hair but in a more distressing state than her. Her light green dress was torn up in many places, showing off more skin than what she was clearly comfortable about given her bruises and her tear-streaked face. Her arms and legs were restrained by three of the men while the fourth who was clearly the leader leered over her with lustful eyes lingering around her chest that was barely covered by the strips of torn cloth.

" **This will teach you to treat your betters with respect, girly."** The man spoke as he leaned over to place a finger on the woman's face, the action causing her to flinch and the other men to laugh cruelly at her. **"Maybe we can make this a regular event."** Jaune's blood was practically boiling at this point, but when the woman turned to look at Jaune, something changed and his heart stopped when he suddenly saw his eldest sister in their clutches.

" **Jaune..."** She weakly called out to him as the leader lowered his hand to the piece of clothing on her chest. **"Run..."**

" **Let's have a little more fun shall we?"**

"Jaune!" That shout broke the vision and Jaune found himself clutching the arm of Cardin away from the rabbit faunus and away from his friends. It seemed that in his state and haste to stop the men violating his sister, he ended up leaving his team and ran forward to grab Cardin's arm away from the faunus, thus breaking the vision.

He really got to have a handle on these visions. Right now though he must as well stop this.

"That is enough." Jaune spoke stiffly as he looked at the teen who was a lot bigger than him and was now sneering at Jaune like he was dirt underneath his booth.

"Oh look at that, Jauney boy thinks he can be the knight to save the maiden!" Cardin jerked back his arm as his teammates surrounded him, the entire cafeteria now going silent at the confrontation. In the distance, Jaune could see the staff coming around from their kitchens with a few closer to the side entrances in case they needed to get help from the professors.

"Why are you even doing this? Can't you see your actions are hurting her?" Jaune motioned with his arm at the faunus who was now outside the ring.

"What's it to you? She is just a freak." Cardin's derogatory words made a few faunus nearby bristled at him and earning him a few glares.

"She is a young woman, not a freak. Also she is a fellow huntress in training." Jaune answered back in a rough tone.

"She is an animal that is in need to be culled or at the least, be trained." Cardin sneered while other people started to add their glares at him and his team. "Maybe you should train her since you appear to be some freak-lover. Bent her over and make her scream."

"It is people like you that gives the White Fang the type of ammunition to attack us all the time." Jaune growled while a few people nodded in agreement.

"Really? Well perhaps it is the other way around, it is freak-lovers like you who keep giving those animals reasons to keep pushing us around when we should be exterminating them instead." Cardin got up close to Jaune's face and leered at him. "Then again weaklings like you make it difficult to keep the population down." Those words merely fanned the flames towards him as many of the faunus in the cafeteria were getting very agitated and the teammates with them looked ready to deck Cardin with whatever they have at hand. Before that could happen, someone came along to interrupt the impending fight.

"What is going on here?" Glynda's strict voice cut through the tension and directed everyone's attention to the blonde headmistress who looked ready to fire off detentions at everyone as she directed her glare at them.

"Nothing, professor." Cardin attempted a smile at her while trying to wrap an arm around Jaune. "We are just having a discussion. Right, Jaune?" Unfortunately for Cardin, Jaune was still running on high with rage and his Aura was responding to that, so Cardin's attempt to squeeze his neck for a subtle reply got repelled violently and he got pushed back for his troubles.

"I am going to get my friend to my table, that's all Professor Goodwitch." Jaune replied before turning to the faunus and offering a hand to her. The girl looked at him with wide eyes before taking his hand slowly. Jaune merely tightened his grip softly and smiled as he led her away. Not without a parting remark by Cardin.

"We will settle this later in combat class, weakling."

 **~~ Scene 3 ~~**

Pyrrha lightly sucked her thumb as the combat classroom filled quickly with students not just from their year group but also from the second and third year cohorts. The news of the confrontation in the cafeteria spread quickly within the hour and it seemed that the faunus bullied by Team CRDL was a second-year from one of the stronger teams so people were interested to keep an eye on the situation. But Pyrrha did not care about that too much, she was more worried for Jaune.

She had known that something was odd for Jaune since that lesson with Professor Port, especially when he went to the hospital wing briefly to talk to the doctor about something and returned with a thoughtful look. He had been oddly spaced out a couple of times before, but the incident today brought something up that made her feel a little afraid for him. She was about to ask Jaune's opinion when she saw his expression changed from nervous to shock then to a cold fury that honestly made her flinch back. Before she could respond, Jaune got up from his table and stomped his way towards Cardin, grabbing his arm and forcing him to release his arm off the girl.

Make no mistake, she was pleased that Jaune was willing to stand up to the troublemaker when no one else did, but there was something uncharacteristic in his behavior for Jaune to do so as he seemed to get confrontational with Cardin. Furthermore there was that odd figure again standing behind Jaune, his face still not shown but the glowing eyes were directed at Cardin with a glare that seemed ready to cut him down. Pyrrha was getting very worried at this point and the timing could not be worse with the lesson. There was no doubt in her mind Cardin was going to use this lesson to hurt Jaune.

Pyrrha did not really listened much to Goodwitch's lecture as she kept throwing nervous glances at Jaune, who himself looked nervous but had a look of determination in his eyes as he clenched his fists. He was clearly psyching himself for the fighting that was to come.

"Now that introductions have been done, I will now be conducting a series of sparring matches to help assess your abilities. I want you to pay close attention to them as they could help you in your own strengths and I will be asking you for comments later." The woman spoke as she looked at each and everyone of them in the eye, many looking away unconsciously from her glare. Pyrrha was at least glad that she held her eye even if she twitched without meaning to, Goodwitch just has that effect on people. "Now I will be selecting people at random..."

"Actually Professor." Everyone turned to look at Cardin who raised his arm. "May I have the first round?" Glynda raised an eyebrow at him before nodding.

"Very well then, now who should we have for your opponent? Let's have..."

"Actually professor, I would like to choose my opponent as well." Cardin interrupted her again to the shock of the other students who were probably thinking that Cardin had a death wish to keep interrupting Goodwitch, enforced by the glare that was directed at him. She later adopted a resigned look, knowing what he must have planned but still wanted to deal with it.

"You may choose an opponent as long as you have not faced them before, AND that person is of adequate level. I will not have you turn this into some sideshow to show off." Glynda emphasized on it but Cardin merely sneered and turned to look at Jaune.

"I choose Jaune Arc." Her partner in question sighed as he shook his head. Pyrrha could only lay a hand on his shoulder in sympathetic support while directing a glare at Cardin who merely widen his sneering at her.

"Do you accept the match-up, Mister Arc?" Glynda called out to him.

"I do professor. I'll be right down." Jaune got up from his seat and made his way to the locker rooms, pausing for a moment when Nora and Ruby offered their supports. Pyrrha could only wish him her own support privately as she looked down at the stage, getting that odd feeling she normally had before a fight that she felt could go wrong.

And that feeling was really bad right now.

 **~~ Scene 4 ~~**

"Well, in for a penny, in for a lien." Jaune muttered as he made his way out of the locker room and towards the stage where he would face Cardin. He had both Crocea Mors and Crimson Blitz equipped so at least he had options, and he knew based on previous interactions that Cardin had a huge mace with a big Fire Dust Crystal inside. Said mace had been upgraded a couple of times to be bigger and longer each time alongside Cardin's boasting.

As Yang so aptly put it, Cardin seemed to be overcompensating for something.

Jaune shook his head and considered the odd vision and induced rage he had experienced earlier. Those visions were getting a little more frequent now but this was the first time his sister appeared in it and the state she was in made him feel angrier than expected. Not that he was supposed to be emotionless or anything, anyone who dared to lay a hand on his sisters would answer to him one way or another. That much he demonstrated for his younger sisters when they got bullied; he may not have aura but he did have a head for thinking up weird punishments that would leave them humiliated if his elder sisters cannot get to them first. But he was still feeling more rage than normal as though he was experiencing another person's anger besides his.

He would think about it later, for now he need to deal with his first combat lesson.

Jaune soon made it out to the practice area where Cardin was standing making a few swings to test out his latest upgrade with a big smile on his face. Jaune felt his blood boil again and forced himself to take a few deep breaths to calm himself before unsheathing Crocea Mors and expanding his shield. His grandfather had emphasized the need to have a clear mind to avoid injuries and having a lot of anger was not helping.

"Good Mister Arc, now we shall commence." Professor Goodwitch turned to face the other students watching them. "This match will be conducted under tournament settings, meaning the match will continue until one's aura has gone to the red, one is incapacitated or surrenders. At which point an alarm will sound and you will cease fighting." Glynda looked to them at that last statement with her gaze lingering on Cardin. "You will not try to continue if I say so. Are both fighters clear on that?"

The both of them nodded, with Jaune's being the most noticeable with a bow while Cardin seemed to shrug her warning and focused on sneering at Jaune.

"Very well, fighters to your positions!" Jaune and Cardin got into their stances and awaited the signal.

 **"Three..."** The students leaned forward in anticipation of the match, some more so than others.

 **"Two.."** Jaune shifted his footing to get better traction while Cardin tightened his grip on his mace. If he was right with his assumption, Cardin was going to attack first.

 **"One..."** Pyrrha clasped her hands together as she made a silent prayer for Jaune's protection.

 **"Begin!"**

As Jaune had predicted, Cardin exploded forward with his mace raised high and aimed for his head. With a loud roar, the bully sent his mace swinging at him, clearly hoping to hit Jaune out with one hit if not intimidate him. Thankfully Jaune had considered that attack and had training from Nora on that aspect, and showed it by raising his shield and angling it enough to deflect the mace. The mace slid off the shield harmlessly and Cardin was briefly left defenseless enough for Jaune to make a quick strike to his sides, drawing 'first blood' so to speak as the aura indicators above them showed.

Cardin growled at that and went for a low blow, swinging the mace to the side where it would make a heavy impact around Jaune's hips if not his family jewels. Jaune managed to move his shield in time to block it but underestimated the amount of force behind the swing and got pushed back a few meters for that. Cardin tried to capitalize on it and went for a body blow, but Jaune dodged to the side in time to let the mace strike the ground hard and make a big crater. Getting into a crouched position, Jaune swung hard and managed to nick Cardin by the leg, bringing his Aura down even further.

At this point Cardin seemed to have realized that Jaune was not as big a pushover as he had hoped and opted to keep his distance and tried a bit of trash-talking.

"Not bad runt. Too bad you are too weak, always going around like a pussy." Cardin tried to make Jaune angry, but a week's worth of Yang made Jaune somewhat immune.

"At least cats are able to dodge attacks properly, while you are like a raging bull that keeps charging at the target." Jaune shrugged with an easy smile. "Then again you look a little like an ape which might explain your behavior patterns."

"WHAT WAS THAT?!"

Okay~ apparently Cardin had something against apes or he hated the comparison as Cardin charged forward and activated his mace to reveal the Fire Dust while swinging. Te explosion that hit Jaune's shield was enough to rattle him to the point of making him stumble. Jaune tried to block with his sword and was semi-successful to blocking and striking Cardin at the same time but ended up getting hit in his arm.

"Aha!" Cardin let out a whoop only to get a Crocea Mors shield bashing to the face, lowering his aura even more. Jaune took the opportunity to sweep the leg underneath him and bring it down hard on his chest before cutting him a few more times for good measure and then making distance away from Cardin.

' _I must remember to thank Silvia for the idea.'_ Jaune thought about his youngest sister who was eight years old and was the darling of the family. She also tends to say out random things that at first glance were thought to be the imagination of a young child but when applied to some situations were actually useful. In this case Silvia had seen one of his training sessions with their sister and had voiced out using one of his dancing moves for them. The fact she said that while doing a cute rendition of one of his motions made it a memory that he would now treasure.

By hook or by crook, he would make sure to bake the best chocolate cake for Silvia to eat by the next weekend for this idea!

Cardin glared at Jaune with a bloodied nose before he suddenly switched to a sneer which got Jaune wary.

"Couldn't help noticing you have two pretty girls in your team, shame a runt like you don't know how to deal with them, it takes a real man to satisfy women like them."

"Aha~ sure~ let me know when you know a real man. I am not sure if I want to learn facts from someone who is clearly compensating with his mace." Jaune talked back to much cheering and laughter on Cardin's part. Yang could be heard in the background shouting "BURN!"

"Nah, I think I am quite capable of handling it." Cardin mocked as they walked around one another. "In fact, I have been keeping an eye on your cute partner for some time now. She seems so high and mighty, but I am sure that a few good knocks would get that out of her. That sounds fun, don't you think?"

Jaune's blood went cold at that statement, and he barely registered how silent the classroom went or how the weapon on his back seemed to vibrate with a bit of agitation. Even Crocea Mors felt oddly cold for some reason when Cardin said those words.

"She goes training at the training rooms or does her running around the campus in the morning a lot, doesn't she?" Cardin gave a leer at that and for a brief moment Jaune's visions switched to the same man dressed in armor and fur wielding a battleaxe, looking at Jaune in the same manner.

' _Attack him...'_

"What's it to you, Winchester? Do you really think Pyrrha would give you the time of day?" Jaune barely kept the bubbling rage back but it seemed something was building it up quickly. Not to mention the odd voice that was telling him something.

' _Cut him down...'_

"Well, she could use an attitude adjustment or two..." As soon as those words left his mouth, Cardin rushed forward to take advantage of the distraction, forcing Jaune to take another blast of the explosion with his shield, but this time Cardin reached forward to grab his sword, and with a big yank pulled it away and threw it to the side. With a quick move that Jaune was not sure he had before, Jaune managed to collapse his shield, grabbed the leather strap and swung hard to land it straight into Cardin's face before finishing the move and opening up his shield again. Jaune glanced at where the sword was thrown and winced at the distance. There was no way he could get to that in time.

Just as well he came prepared. Jaune reached behind to grab Crimson Blitz while turning to look at Cardin.

"Lucky hit..." Cardin wiped the blood of his mouth. "Then again with that stuck-up bitch on your team, you had to learn some things."

' _Hurt him...'_

"You know what though? Beacon does have a lot of empty and out-of-the-way spots that don't have cameras checking them all the time. Plenty of areas for me and the boys to get… 'acquainted' with that girl of yours. She may act all proper and nice, but deep down she is a whore like every other girl out there." Cardin kept talking while the figure from Jaune's vision appeared behind him and in the same position. Jaune could almost hear the blooding pumping in his ears as his vision changed once more back to the snowy castle at night, but this time they were outside of the castle in an open snowy plain, and both Cardin and the figure leered right back at him while the bodies of the young woman, his sister and Pyrrha laid on the ground with clothes that were torn and blood-soaked, their eyes glazed from whatever trauma.

" **We will make her respect her betters..."**

' _ **SLAY HIM!'**_

Jaune dropped his shield and pulled Crimson Blitz out hard, the blade singing for the promise of blood on its body. With a roar, he leaped forward and started to slash wildly at Cardin, all thoughts of strategy gone from his mind and replaced with the desire to hurt the person before him. Crimson Blitz made short work of Cardin as it sliced through his aura and armor to make deep cuts, drawing a bit of blood in the process.

"What the?!" Cardin clearly did not expect the ferocity that Jaune was displaying and was forced into a defensive state using the mace as a makeshift barrier while trying to take a few shots at Jaune. Jaune ignored some of the blows as he continued laying on the attacks, his vision seemingly alternating between Cardin in the classroom and the robed figure in the snowy plains as they kept trying to attack and dodge Jaune.

He just wanted to make Cardin regret his actions towards the rabbit faunus…

He wanted Cardin to pay for those remarks towards Pyrrha…

He wanted the robed figure to suffer for harming the woman in the vision…

He wanted them both to suffer...

He wanted to **kill** both Cardin and the robed figure…

Cardin at this point took the chance to swing the mace and activate the Fire Dust, pushing Jaune back a few feet so that Cardin could get a chance to get away from Jaune. The knight growled at the action taken, to him it proved that Cardin had made a big mistake but was not paying the price enough.

 _He would not let him leave!_

Seemingly in response to his rage, Crimson Blitz reconfigured itself to extend its blade and the edge started to glow a deep red with small traces of electricity. With a yell, Jaune swung hard and unleash a hailstorm of crimson blades that flew across the stage and bombarded Cardin with no mercy. Cardin tried to block the blades only to have his mace cut down into several pieces and to be struck down at the legs. Jaune took that opportunity to close the distance, grabbed the handle with both hands and swung it hard to end it all.

' _ **KILL HIM!'**_

" **Cloud** / Jaune / Mister Arc!"

Crimson Blitz stopped just before Cardin's neck, lightly nicking the skin and drawing a bit of blood from it. Jaune's mind went blank as the vision cleared away, revealing a beaten Cardin who looked at Jaune like he was about to meet the Grim Reaper. Jaune's rage was almost extinguished but it was still there, smoldering but ready to become a blaze while his heart was pounding in his ears. But Jaune could not help the dread that was encroaching on his heart; he almost lost control of himself, letting Cardin get the better of him with his words. He actually wanted to kill Cardin over words, granted justifiable words but still...

He had to be better than that.

Briefly closing his eyes, Jaune took a deep breath to center himself before opening them again to look at Cardin in the eye.

"You are a pathetic worm who dares to harm women for your sick pleasures. I do not know how you got here with that attitude." Jaune pulled back the blade and stood straight while maintaining his glare at the bully. "You will apologize to the young lady, and don't even think of laying a finger on Pyrrha. If you do..." With that Jaune stepped back a few steps and looked to Goodwitch who had her crop held up, likely about to intervene when he held back. Jaune took a quick glance around and winced inwardly at the stares he was getting. With another deep breath, he bowed his body towards Goodwitch.

"My apologies for losing myself to anger and displaying a bad side of the fight." Jaune held his head down as he awaited his judgment. After a while he heard the heels clicking across the stage and stopped before him, making him slowly look up to find the professor looking at him with a gaze that was checking him. Seemingly finding no fault, she nodded.

"See that you do, Mister Arc." Glynda then turned to the students around them. "Winner by Aura depletion and incapacitation by injuries, Jaune Arc."

There was a pause, then like a tidal wave the sounds of applause came about with a few cheering. Jaune looked to where his team was and was a little relieved to find them and Team RWBY cheering him on, although Blake and Weiss were a little subdued. Well he would have to cross that bridge later.

"Well students, as you can see Mister Winchester has lost by Aura depletion..." Goodwitch started her lecture based on the fight while Jaune went to pick up his shield. He just picked it up and looked up to his team when he saw Ren's expression tightened and Pyrrha's transition from joy to fear, followed shortly by Ruby, Yang and Blake.

"Jaune, watch out!"

"Mister Winchester!"

Jaune turned his head to find Cardin having jumped in the air and raising the ruined mace above in an attempt to blindside him and take him out. His vision switched once more to the robed figure who had his battleaxe aimed at his head, his face having an expression of rage, glee and madness as he swung it down.

For the last time of the day, Jaune reacted instinctively by swinging Crimson Blitz, the blade singing in the process…

 _'Shring!'_

… And at long last, it had tasted the blood of its owner's enemies on the battlefield.

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0-0-0-0

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Le Gasp~ a cliffhanger?! Say it ain't so! XD

Hello there, here's the latest chapter for this story. And oh dear, our dear knight is certainly in a bit of a pickle. Let's see what will be the fallout huh?

Now as one imagine, having these visions come out randomly would definitely have be problematic. Ask anyone who suffers from hallucinations and majority of them will say it sucks. For Jaune's case, having a certain entity only increases the issue. And don't forget the title of the story, Jaune has Crimson Blitz for now...

Hope you like the certain shout-out to the man who has sadly left us for a better world, may that place have his heroes to welcome him...

Also just to let you guys know, I have currently debuted one of my other story ideas, 'the Arcadian Code' inspired by Dan Brown. I am hoping to get the next chapter out around Christmas or at the latest before the New Year. Also to let you guys know, my alternate account so that you can visit and view some of the stories is on profile.

So as always, please R-&-R and hope you stick around for another chapter.

And I put my pen down for now.


	7. Lessons Aftermath

**Disclaimer:**

The works of Rooster-Teeth and their characters are their own and that of the mighty Oum. The only thing I own are the one-shot ideas that popped into my head and whatever OCs I would create for them. This is a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, flames will be ignored. Any references to characters in real-life or fiction are purely coincidental. If I could make money out of my ideas, it would be nice...

Oum Damn It!

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 **Date Published:** 7th January 2019

 **Chapter Title:** Lessons Aftermath

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 **~~ Scene 1 ~~**

The sounds of the elevator arriving to the hospital wing pinged in the corridor as the doors opened and Ozpin made his way to the intensive care block where one Cardin Winchester was supposed to be warded in. Huntsmen were not often patients due to their Aura blocking the attacks and at the most heal their wounds, but every so often someone would either get cocky or careless to depend on their Aura too much and end up getting injured once it runs out. The hospital wing was more half the entire block of the campus dedicated for those people and they would get split into four different areas for varying levels of severity. Using Jaune Arc's injuries as an example, he would be in the medium level because of him overexerting his Aura, broken bones and blood loss. It was honestly quite surprising that Jaune was able to recover in roughly four hours but that could be attributed to his large reserves of Aura.

As for Cardin Winchester...

"Glynda." He called out to his headmistress who was seated outside the door that led to the highest level of intensive care. "How is Mister Winchester?" The woman sighed heavily as she got off the chair and faced him.

"Mister Winchester was taken off the critical list roughly five minutes ago. The medics got to him on time thankfully." Glynda shook her head as she started to recount the report. "His most serious injury would be the amputation of both his arms right at the joints of his elbows. The doctors believed that they can stitch his arms back but they warned that his motor actions would be reduced and there is a chance his right arm may not be feasible. His next major injury is the deep slash across his chest. The only reason Mister Winchester was not bisected was due to his armor and the mace, but that was still too close as a few of his broken ribs had to be removed to make way for his lungs that got lightly pierced by them. His heart is also bruised heavily so they have to open the rib-cage to give it some space to pump the blood properly." Glynda let out another sigh before continuing. "There is also the serious issue of blood loss as his wounds are not healing fast enough, mostly due to his Aura levels drained completely. Until he can replenish them the doctors are keeping him sedated. This could take three weeks to a little more than a month depending on his rate of aura recovery."

"Sadly he was not blessed with an abundance of Aura. His recovery is going to be very stagnant to say the least." Ozpin took a sip of his coffee. "You said that it was mostly the lack of aura that was hindering the recovery. What else was there?"

"There is an added complication to his recovery. The doctors are still checking but it would seem that Mister Winchester also suffered some type of nerve damage." Glynda had an odd expression as she gave the report to Ozpin. "The best the doctors can describe it is his nerves were cut cleanly. From the inside out." Ozpin did a double-take at that and looked to her briefly before turning his attention to the report before him. The more he read the more he had a harder time understanding the damage described and the implications behind it.

"Nerves within his arms and legs have been cut to the point that rivals the pin-point precision of Atlas lasers." Ozpin looked up to Glyndia at this point, "Are they serious?"

"That's what I asked." Glynda nodded her head. "In any case, something about those cuts made it harder for the body to repair, it is as though something is impeding the Aura from healing them."

"Looks like Mister Winchester is going to be here a lot longer, and that means Team CRDL will be out of commission for some time." Ozpin sighed heavily.

"That may be a long time and I am actually a little thankful if reluctant about it. I understand his wounds are severe, but I can't help thinking that this is karma on Mister Winchester's behavior. He has been harassing multiple students, making racist remarks at all the faunus in the campus, repeated lateness and ignorance for his lessons. And that is not considering the latest stunt he pulled at my lesson." Glynda growled at this point. "Now I might understand that 'talking trash' is a method of distracting your opponent, but the type of things he said about Miss Nikos and what he planned to do to her was downright abysmal. If he was even considering any of it..."

"I am sure that he did not mean any of it other than a tactic to make Mister Arc angry, a tactic I would say that worked a little too well to his detriment." Ozpin remarked. "Mister Winchester might have attitude issues but he is not a bad person."

"Plenty of people we know to be good in the beginning have turned bad." Glynda frowned as memories of her old co-workers and students becoming criminals filled her mind. "But that is the least of his problems right now."

"Oh?"

"As I have stated, I might understand the trash talking, but the stunt he pulled after that was not acceptable! He dared to attack someone in the back after the fight, one who has his aura lowered from the fight. Now before you go on about this happening in real life, I understand that. But I do not appreciate his attitude and pride issues, he has dared to attack Mister Arc in the back despite him giving him one last chance, all in plain view of the other students who have been witnesses to the cafeteria argument and a few other fights." She continued her rant while unconsciously making some of the items around her tremble from her Semblance going loose. "There are already several videos going around the servers on the fight, and I have students coming forward to tell me about his harassment on them in places that we could not catch him, and the 'speech' he gave about Miss Nikos."

Ozpin winced about the video portion. Some of the videos were taken by students who had been recording the cafeteria argument and later the fight at Glynda's lesson. Within the hour, pretty much everyone in the campus and a few outside would have seen the footage. He was not going to look forward to the response he would get from the press or the father when he found out about it.

Even without it, many of the students had heard what Cardin had said and planned about Pyrrha Nikos, and had told their friends about it. One had to be suicidal to declare such actions towards a young woman who had a fan-base following that spanned almost the entire Remnant, let alone Beacon itself. It was with some admitted reluctance on his part that Ozpin let the three members of CRDL hide out in one of the empty classrooms near his tower so that he could keep an eye out for them without the possibility of getting lynched.

"How about Mister Arc, what is his status?" Ozpin decided to think of the other person involved with the situation.

"He is currently in a separate room with a warm drink and no weapons or sharp objects around him with a camera keeping an eye on him. He is in deep shock and I am hoping that you could try to talk to him later." Glynda sighed as she pushed her glasses up with her finger. "He is not properly responding to my words and has been staring at his hands or his reflection for some time now." Ozpin winced again at that bit of information. He was centuries old and had seen many things in his life, but the thoughts of an innocent soul like Jaune Arc have to spill the blood of another was something that could still affect him at times, doubly so as the young man clearly was not ready for it.

None of the new huntsmen were ready for such a thing, you normally get those from the fourth-years or seasoned huntsmen like Qrow or Ironwood.

"Very well, I shall visit him momentarily." Ozpin took a moment to consider what to say to the young man. "Though we would probably send him back to his room soon."

"Please do so. His team and Ruby Rose were clamoring earlier to see him." Glynda gave the first smile since this conversation. "Miss Nikos was rather insistent that I let her in or she would get physical with me."

"Oh dear." That was the only thing Ozpin could answer with.

"Indeed. I had to be very firm in my words to tell her that she would only see him after we processed him and get his testimony on the situation." Glynda chuckled at this point. "Miss Valkyrie was only curtailed from such an action with help from Mr Lie. Miss Rose on the other hand was perhaps the most persuasive of the lot by giving me that dreaded puppy dog eyes."

"That is a good idea. Shame it did not work on you that much." Ozpin looked at his watch and sighed. "Time to meet with Mister Arc for his side of the story. Honestly we had to do this even when the evidence is clear."

"The board has already been notified so we need the proof, and considering a certain politician is following it to check on Mister Winchester on occasions..." Glynda remarked much to Ozpin's consternation.

"Yeah… I am so not looking forward to that meeting." Ozpin placed two fingers to his nose and rubbed it hard.

"Ozpin, I am worried for Mister Arc." Glynda admitted as she removed her glasses. "Our short time together during those lessons have given me an insight to the type of person he is. He is able to understand some hardships, but he is kind and naive of the world to a fault much like Miss Rose. I have seen his reaction during that lesson, he is not yet ready for the harshness."

"On that, I agree. None of them except Miss Belladonna perhaps." Ozpin nodded solemnly. "Once we get out of this mess, can you supervise his training alongside Peter?"

"Peter?" Glynda looked to him like he grew an extra head.

"Peter seemed to have taken a liking to the young man, stating he is the first one to see past his storytelling to get the facts and the first one to understand that the way of huntsmen is not all fame and fortune. I get the feeling he can help knock him out of his funk."

"I can only hope for that." Glynda nodded her agreement to which Ozpin started to make his way back to the elevator with his thoughts now on a certain blond-haired boy.

Time to meet the young Arc and hopefully get him out of this mess.

 **~~ Scene 2 ~~**

(5 minutes ago)

There was absolute silence in the room as Jaune lightly clasped the cup, its contents having gone cold an hour ago. He was not feeling any urge to drink, eat or do anything for that matter. He could not shake the sinking feeling in his stomach nor the vision of the blood on his hands out of his mind. The memory of a screaming Winchester holding up both of his arms missing their hands and later getting moved to the infirmary with the missing appendages following suit kept replaying before his eyes.

' _It was all my fault, I did that...'_

He had been replaying the fight in his mind for the duration he had been in the room, but no matter how he tried to envision it being done differently, it all seemed to come to the same scene where Cardin would have his arms sliced off cleanly. He was in so much shock that he did not realize that Professor Goodwitch had gently removed the weapon from his hands and guided him to this room until she placed the warm cup for him to drink and to focus on.

Not that it would help with the guilt.

There was one other issue he had to address himself, the odd visions and the resulting rage he felt at times. He was right about them interfering but this was beyond that. He was actually losing himself to those visions and he had a fear that he might lose himself completely to them.

Granted that fear came from movies, but the general idea stuck, for all he knew, he was one step away from getting a mask on his face and laughing like a mad man while his original self would be sealed away with some twisted reasoning that instincts was the deciding factor for a king and his horse.

Heck, if he looked at the mirror that was opposite of him, he would swear that he could see the soldier from his visions standing close by with his arms crossed and an expression that was half-resigned to the impending decision...

The sound of the door opening dragged his eyes to Ozpin who had just entered, with his cane in one hand and a mug of coffee in the other. Come to think of it, Ozpin always had some mug with hot liquid in it, occasionally hot chocolate but more often caffeine.

"Well Mister Arc, this is quite a pickle." Ozpin pulled back the chair and sat on it slowly, lightly putting the mug next to him and interlocking his fingers as he kept his gaze on Jaune.

"How is Cardin?" Jaune asked immediately.

"Mister Winchester is safe though in need of rest for a few weeks at least. His aura reserves are not high to begin with, so it will take longer for his recovery but he will definitely be back on his feet in no time." The headmaster answered while maintaining his gaze.

"I see, that's good." Jaune sighed heavily before looking at Ozpin with a sad expression. "I guess I need to start packing my bags?"

"Oh, why do you think that?" Ozpin smiled at the expression on Jaune's face.

"But I hurt Cardin badly! He could have died!" Jaune unwittingly slammed his hands onto the desk hard enough to disturb both mugs, his spilling its contents while Ozpin's remained still. "Should I not be expelled for that?!"

"Yes, he could have died, but he still lived." Ozpin took a sip of his drink. "Partly because you held back at the last second, otherwise we would be having a very different conversation all together."

"As for the matter of expulsion on your attack, you forget that what you did was a form of self-defense. Mister Winchester did attack you in the back after the match was over, in full view of the other students with knowledge that your own Aura levels were down. Had he managed to connect his attack to your head, you would be the one in the hospital wing and he would be having your seat in this room."

"Oh..." Jaune could only say that lamely.

"That said, this does bring up a predicament for me." Ozpin brought his anxiety to new levels. "It is self-defense, but it does not change the fact that you had attacked him rather viciously even with him goading you with those disrespectful words towards Miss Nikos. There is also the matter of your argument with him at the cafeteria."

"I know." Jaune nodded heavily. "It is just… I suppose you know about the bullying he does."

"Indeed. Miss Scarlatina, the few Faunus students, some of the others in your group and yourself included."

"This might sound stupid, but we have so much issues with Remnant these days, what with the tensions between kingdoms, the crime rates going up, the White Fang and of course the Grimm." Jaune ruffled his hair in frustration, "seeing Cardin pulling that girl's ears just made me think that his behavior is one of those reasons that we have these issues."

"And?" Ozpin gently prompted seeing the look in his eyes.

"… Someone I witnessed in the past got violently attacked by a group of guys," Jaune tried to explain his motivations without giving away the bit on his visions. "The rabbit Faunus reminds me a lot of that woman in appearance and distress."

"Hmm..." Ozpin hummed as he leaned back in his chair.

"Then during that lesson, Cardin's words just reminded me again of that woman and at the same time, I could not help thinking that this guy could go after my sisters." Jaune shook his head. "I know it sounds like an excuse, but that guy just made me feel so mad with his words towards Pyrrha and his manhandling of the girl that I snapped."

"I understand." Ozpin took another sip. "And now let me tell you what I think." Jaune unconsciously straightened his back at the tone of Ozpin's voice.

"Remember what I told you in the hospital? Out of all the students who enrolled this year, I see you as one with the most potential being wasted on the outside. You have improved greatly based on Glynda's input, that much is evident. But your inexperience is certainly showing now." Ozpin spoke as he kept a calm voice. "You are only just starting to come out of your shell, and your potential is beginning to peek out. With that you need to practice more on your control and your emotions. Aura is mysterious in many ways, one of which is that it is heavily influenced by and can influence your emotions. There are some studies that suggest that any emotions felt during the first release of Aura would influence the control." He paused to look at Jaune in the eye. "Tell me, when you had your Aura unlocked by Miss Nikos, what were the emotions you felt?"

"… Joy… Warmth... Mystery… Contentment" Jaune started to list the emotions he felt only to pause at one that made his stomach hurt a little. "Frustration..."

"Why do you feel the last one?"

"Frustration at my parents." Jaune clasped his hands tightly. "Frustration at all those huntsmen in the town. All of them knew about Aura, knew about my desire to become a huntsman, yet they did not do **_zit_**!" He slammed his fists on the table as he thought back to the town where it seemed only his sisters were his supporters.

"What of your trainers? They did not teach you about or unlock your Aura."

"True, but the thing is they did give some reasons for it." Jaune answered "My grandfather and uncle are very old-school, while they did not say Aura specifically they did say that there are some things I can only know once I got to Beacon. Sis also taught me about the supposed power I would get here and that I should not rely on it too much. And of course, the three of them were the only ones who actually gave me some form of training."

"Hmm..." Ozpin had to hand it to Jaune's family / trainers, they knew what to teach Jaune and what not to do. One of the biggest issues he faced in these few centuries was huntsmen being too reliant on Aura, once it went out they go down quickly. This was also something he decided to bring Jaune in since the young man did not have any Aura to begin with, he had to know how to avoid attacks better than the others.

"So you think that my emotions are messing with my Aura?" Jaune's question knocked him out of his retrospection.

"Partially, that might explain why when you are normally using Crocea Mors, your Aura color is white but when you are using Crimson Blitz it turns a shade of red." Ozpin observed Jaune's expression and Aura as he spoke. From the manner he was thinking, it was clear the young man had yet to discover the cause of it yet.

Might want to keep it that way.

"Mister Arc, time is running short so allow me to speed things up." Ozpin spoke out. "You are certainly not getting expelled from the academy. The way I see it, you are in dire need of training and focus. You have taken the first few steps to unlocking your potential but you are woefully unprepared for it. So as part of your punishment, you will be doubling on your lessons with Glynda. She will be emphasizing on your aura controls so that you don't lose control."

"Your other part of the punishment would be to serve detention and counseling with Professor Peter Port."

"Professor Port?" Jaune blinked in confusion.

"The experience you just had is not something to be trifled with." Ozpin looked at Jaune in the eye. "I will not lie to you, as you get higher on the totem pole, you will be forced to make decisions regarding your opponents that could be considered evil by other's standards. Taking lives is certainly something you are not prepared for. Despite his storytelling, Professor Port is good at battle counseling." Ozpin smiled at this point. "And from what I heard from him, you are the only one who understood the meaning of his stories."

"Oh..." Jaune scratched his head as he tried to process all of that.

"Aside from those, the most we can punish you with would be to make you write an essay on proper weapon handling and put you off the fighting rooster until the time is up. You won't be fighting much in the lessons. IF, and that is a big if, Glynda wants you to fight, it would be twice per week at best until the end of the punishment."

That Jaune could live with, he was still trying to get his footwork and sword skills up to speed. And with what had happened, he rather make sure that they were properly done.

"Well, I believe we are done with this." Ozpin got out of his chair with Jaune following suit. "I believe it is time for you to return to your dorm where your team and Team RWBY are awaiting news."

"I just hope that I won't be looked at like a freak or a murderer." Jaune bowed his head down.

"From your friends and teammates, I don't believe so. Majority of the students should be in the same boat." Ozpin paused as he looked at his reflection. "The remainder might think that way but I doubt they will say it to your face." Jaune nodded in reply and started to towards the door when Ozpin raised a finger.

"One more thing, and this is my condition for your punishment." Ozpin looked to Jaune in the eye, making the teen gulped unconsciously at the serious light in his eyes.

"For your lessons, I would prefer that you use only Crocea Mors as your weapons. From what I understand, you have skills with either the shield or the sword, not together. You need to work more on using your family's weapon as your primary." Ozpin raised a finger to stop his questions. "Crimson Blitz is a good weapon, that much I agree but the few times it has been used it is considerably more dangerous than most of the other students in your cohort, and I have been getting reports of people getting cut just by touching it alone. Coupled with your Aura issues that seems to sharpen its edge, it might be best to hold off on its usage."

Jaune could only agree to that bit. He had been meaning to train more with his family weapon, after all he did not want to keep losing the blade every time he sparred with it. And considering what just happened, it might take a while for him to consider picking up Crimson Blitz again. "I understand sir."

"Any other questions you wish to ask before returning?" Jaune was about to answer a negative when he paused to think about his situation, taking a glance at the mirror where he could still see that soldier. This was the headmaster of Beacon who had let him into his academy without much fuss, surely he had seen a lot of things in his life to get ideas about his issue.

"There is something, although it is not quite related." Ozpin merely stood patiently with his cane.

"Ever since I had my Aura unlocked, I have been getting these odd dreams. Visions or something" Jaune struggled to explain his situation without sounding like a madman, "it seems to be of the past."

"Oh?"

"I am not sure how to explain properly but they felt so real, like I was there experiencing it." Jaune frowned as he thought back about his visions. "Sometimes I see a quiet town, sometimes I get a battlefield. I am not sure why that is the case, but it has been going on and off for a while now." The teen turned to look at Ozpin with a slightly desperate expression. "Is this normal? Is there something wrong with me?"

"… It is uncommon, but not rare that a person could get visions or images of things when Aura is unlocked." Ozpin answered while giving Jaune a curious expression. "For some, they are related to their semblance like precognition or faster processing of the time. There are some who believe that the images might be information in the blood that is related to the past of long ago."

"So it could be nothing?" Jaune asked slightly hopeful.

"I think for your part it is a case of your heritage getting unlocked perhaps. There is not much study on this I am afraid." Ozpin answered. "But you should not need to worry of this, but if you would like, you could come over to my office to talk it over to ease your mind. Otherwise I could get your professors to help out."

"I might consider that." Jaune sighed as some of the tension got removed. "It is a little hard to tell anyone. I am not sure if I am going crazy."

"I have heard of this from the doctor about your visit yesterday, I thank you for trusting me enough to question in this matter." Ozpin remarked to Jaune. "I am willing to keep a secret on it, and from what I see, it could be stress on your part with all that had happened. But as I said, my door is open to you." Jaune nodded and proceeded to leave the room. If he had bothered to look back, he would wonder why Ozpin had a light frown on his face.

Time to get back to his team.

 **~~ Scene 3 ~~**

Pyrrha was pacing back and forth in the room, looking at the door every odd turn in hopes of seeing Jaune entering the room through it. It has been 4 hours since the fight in Goodwitch's class and there was no word about Jaune. The rest of the evening was cancelled so they were now allowed to whatever was needed with a few asked for witness statements. She had tried to get to her partner but Professor Goodwitch had blocked her attempts and admittedly, the young spartan may have accidentally threatened the professor to let her see him. The professor however was firm in her words and told her in no uncertain terms that Jaune would return to the room shortly after they sorted out the mess.

Pyrrha did not not put much thought about Cardin Winchester since he was particularly detailed in his idea of 'correcting her behavior'. She was not normally a vindictive person, but the way she saw it, the brute had brought it upon himself by saying that, harassing and bullying the students, and attacking her partner in the back after a sanctioned fight. Besides, if her usual fan-base got word of it, Cardin was going to be lynched sooner or later, and this might be the first time she would welcome it.

"Pyrrha, you need to sit down for a while." Ren called out to her while he was seated on the bed cleaning out his weapons.

"It is now 4 hours, what could be taking them so long?" Pyrrha let out a growl of frustration as she paused in the middle of the room.

"They are probably trying to make sure all the facts are collected properly before giving out the verdict." Ren answered in a calm manner.

"What is there to collect?" Nora called out from her bed where she was listening to some music. She took off her headphones and looked to them "Cardin tried to attack Jaune-Jaune in the back and got wrecked for his troubles. Simple as that, and I hope it keeps him down for a long time."

"Nora!" Pyrrha admonished her for that line of thinking.

"Pyrrha, that jerk was saying mean things about you, kept bullying Jaune, and when Jaune beat him fair and square, that guy decided to give him a mace in the back of the head!" Nora answered back with a set jaw. "The way I see it, that guy deserves it."

"You get my vote on it." The three turned to find Team RWBY at the door with Yang having opened it and replying as they entered. "That guy needs to be taken down a few pegs to get the idea."

"While I would disagree with the method and the outcome of the issue, I do agree on the part that Winchester has gone too far with his actions." Weiss crossed her arms as she looked to the group. "His actions before today have shown that he has a great disregard for authority and revels in his perceived power as the leader of his team. With that stunt he pulled in Professor Goodwitch's class, he has just shown that he was vindictive and willing to attack someone under a perceived slight. Being seen as a 'backstabber' will not help him with his cohorts if not his own team."

"Especially with word passing from the others in the class and the videos being circulated in the servers." Yang added that bit of information.

"What videos?" Ruby looked to everyone having not heard about that.

"A few of the students from our year and above were recording the incident in the cafeteria." Blake answered her query. "Then they did the same for the lesson where Cardin was taunting Jaune and later attacked him in the back. They uploaded the videos to the servers and the last I checked, it has garnered quite a few views."

"Make that four thousand views and counting in Beacon alone." Nora held up her scroll with the video playing, "and it has reached the outside. This won't stay quiet for long."

"Indeed, and I do not fancy his team's chances with Team CFVY." Ren spoke. "I bumped into the man called Yatsuhashi, and I for one do not want to face off with him especially when he is angry at what happened to the rabbit Faunus."

"That is good and all but how long is Jaune going to be held?" Pyrrha asked with some frustration evident in her words. "I mean he did it in self-defense, and if Beacon is the same as Haven Academy, the most they can hold him to do witness statement and perhaps scheduling for a follow-up would be an hour. That should be clear right?"

"Depends on how the council wants to play this since Winchester would not be quiet about this." Weiss answered for them with Blake nodding.

"What can Cardin do about this? Why would his word mean anything to the council?" Yang asked with a raised eyebrow. Weiss looked to her like she was asking a dumb question.

"Seriously, do you not know who his father is?" Seeing everyone shake their head except Blake who mentioned that she knew him a little made Weiss grumble lightly. "I might understand Nora, Ren and Pyrrha since they are from Mistral, but shouldn't you and Ruby have heard of him since you are from Vale? Even Blake knows a little about him."

"Dad and Uncle Qrow always tell us never to get involved with politics." Yang shrugged. "That and considering the number of choice words our uncle has for the council, it does not paint a good picture for us."

"… Okay, I might give you two some slack." Weiss sighed before raising a finger like a teacher giving a lesson. "Cardin's father is Beaufort Winchester the Third, a politician that recently entered the Vale Council about five years ago. He has not had a lot of appearances, but the few he does have is not pretty."

"He is a hardliner known for some of his more controversial work and law proposals." Blake added in at this point. "I have heard on the grapevine on my way to Beacon that he and Ozpin butted heads on many of the affairs conducted here such as the budget and the selection of students. He is one of the few who keep demanding to reduce the budget for huntsmen training on grounds that we won't need that many, and that also leads to 'better' selection of trainees." Blake seemed to growl as she emphasized on the word.

"What does he mean by that?" Ruby asked timidly.

"In his view, those to be inducted into huntsmen academies should be the type with money, connections, power, and above all, to be 'the best of humanity'." Blake answered flatly.

"In short not Faunus?" Blake nodded to Yang's query. "At least that explains where the jerk got his anti-Faunus attributes."

"Among others. I have heard that Beaufort has people on the academy board to try and get his own views into Beacon but it has been rejected. That might explain why Cardin has been getting away with a lot of the bullying and harassment." Blake added on.

"That is that, but the sad bit is he is getting some support from who dislike Ozpin for various reasons." Weiss continued on with her lecture. "If I remember correctly, the major issue that comes about is Ozpin's authority. Out of the four kingdoms, Beacon Academy is perhaps the most autonomous of the academies. Meaning Beacon is almost its own nation in its rights."

"They do not like Ozpin having that much power." Ren commented.

"Exactly, which is stupid in my opinion since the other headmasters have that level of power. General Ironwood is both the headmaster of the academy and the general of the Atlas Military, granting him two seats in the Atlas Council." Weiss remarked. "He has his own views but the council does not go behind his back all the time."

"Politicians." Pyrrha answered with a suffering tone. "They don't like those who have the power and the popularity to kick them out of their seats, especially if that someone cannot be bought over."

"In any case, because of this incident Beaufort will end up being notified by the professors about Cardin. There is a chance that Beaufort will try to drag Jaune's name into the mud if he could get a shot at Ozpin."

"If he does that, I will break his legs!" Nora declared while pulling out her hammer with a rather disturbing smile.

"Leave me his arms." Yang banged both her fists together with an equally disturbing expression. Ruby looked torn between wanting to help out and not getting involved.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." Ren raised his arms to intervene. "We do not know what will happen at this point in time."

"Yeah." Ruby raised her arm and a finger in the air. "We should make sure that Jaune is protected from Cardin for now, we can worry about the big things later." That declaration brought out a few responses from the others in the form of Weiss grumbling at her simplicity, Blake shaking her head, Nora and Yang cheering, Ren looking resigned and Pyrrha feeling a little better that the others were looking out for Jaune.

The door opening drew their attention to Jaune who looked like he got thrown through the figurative blender, he looked so burnt out and his eyes were blood-shot.

"Jaune!" Much to Pyrrha's relief and private annoyance, Ruby rushed forward with her Semblance and ran circles around Jaune to check him at all angles as though she wanted to find injuries. "Are you okay? Do you need medicine or a cookie? Did they try to send you prison? Did they try to make you be a prison wolf?"

"RUBY?!" Everyone looked to her with wide eyes and jaws wide open. She only titled her head in confusion. "What?"

"Dare I ask where you heard that term?" In response to Weiss's query the youngest pointed to Yang who looked sheepish under the glares of the other teens.

"Why, what does it mean?" Ruby asked while looking to the others.

"Something you honestly should never have heard from anyone." Weiss answered while maintaining her glare at Yang. "Especially from an older sister who should know better."

"Ruby, just know that it is something very bad and you should really not say it." Blake took over while placing both hands on her shoulders and looking at her in the eye. "Preferably you will never have to use it ever."

"Is it worse than swearing words?" Ruby asked while looking concerned.

"Much worse, especially for Jaune's current situation." Blake decided to end it there and not drag Jaune's situation further. Even if she was getting odd vibes from Jaune at times, this was clearly not the time to get wary.

"Okay. Sorry Jaune." The little girl turned to her fellow team leader and apologized.

"It's fine Ruby." Jaune waved his hand. "It has just been a long day."

"So what happened?" Nora asked to which Jaune answered by telling them what happened with Cardin and what happened with his talk with Ozpin. They nodded at some portions and collectively winced at the bit where Peter Port was going to be his councilor.

"That is definitely the worse punishment ever." Yang commented at that point.

"Your sacrifice would not be forgotten, Jaune-Jaune." Nora gave a mock salute solemnly.

"Guys, he is really not that bad." Jaune tried to defend the old professor.

"Based on what I understand from your notes, you may be the only one who can understand his storytelling." Weiss commented with disbelief on her face.

"Still, at least you are not getting expelled or worse sent to jail." Ruby piped up.

"Yeah, the only thing I got to deal with now is being looked at like I will be ready to snap anytime for hurting Cardin." Jaune groaned at the thought.

"Even if he deserves it!" Nora added fiercely.

"Let's hope Cardin has learned his lesson." Yang paused before snorting. "Then again, it is doubtful."

"We should all keep an eye out for him, that way he won't try to take us out in surprise." Blake said aloud their thoughts.

"Well at least the day is over. We will talk more tomorrow." Ruby rushed forward to give Jaune a hug before running off. "Bye Jaune!" Yang snickered at her actions before leaving the room, waving her goodbyes. The other two of the team bid them farewell and closed the door behind them.

"Well that is done." Jaune went to clean himself off while the others started to clean up the room. It did not take long for Jaune to come out of the shower and headed to bed, crashing into it without much fanfare and immediately snoring softly.

"Poor Jaune, he must be exhausted." Pyrrha looked to her partner with concerned eyes.

"After the day he has, not surprising." Ren placed a hand on her shoulder. "Why don't we head off for an early breakfast tomorrow? If we get up before him we could get him some breakfast to eat in peace before the others start asking him question."

"Good idea Renny, we shall do so for Fearless Leader!" Nora said as she bounced on her bed. "Good night all!" With that she landed squarely on her pillow and instantly clocked out.

"I envy her ability to knock out so quickly." Pyrrha shook her head at that. Ren chuckled as he went to his bed to sleep. Pyrrha took a while to clean up before heading to bed, looking at Jaune one last time as the events of the day had finally caught up to her and she started drifting. It could be her exhaustion messing with her eyes, but she could swear that the figure from before was standing over Jaune looking at him with a sad expression, before looking to her and giving a nod as he faded away...

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0-0-0-0

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Hello there, here's the latest chapter for this story. First chapter of the new year as well!

Well that situation is tied up for now, but I doubt it would be that simple, we are talking Cardin after all. I wanted some form of damage to him, so I threw in his injuries. What do you guys think though, have Cardin expelled or worse in the next odd chapter?

To the reviewer who told me about Glynda's name, much thanks. My word processor keep correcting it for some reason...

As always, please R-&-R and let me know how this goes, and hopefully you stick around for me to bring out another chapter.

And I put my pen down for now.


	8. Hammertime Part 1

**Disclaimer:**

The works of Rooster-Teeth and their characters are their own and that of the mighty Oum. The only thing I own are the one-shot ideas that popped into my head and whatever OCs I would create for them. This is a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, flames will be ignored. Any references to characters in real-life or fiction are purely coincidental. If I could make money out of my ideas, it would be nice...

Oum Damn It!

* * *

 **Date Published:** 30th January 2019

 **Chapter Title:** Hammertime Part 1

* * *

 **~~ Scene 1 ~~**

In many ways, the one and a half months of punishment was quite hectic for Jaune.

For one, Jaune had to deal with the attention by the student populace. Some looked at him like he was some inmate ready to shiv them if they turned their backs to him, but the majority was silent approval for his actions towards Cardin. Some of the upper years had actually started giving him tips for the lessons he would have over the year, and there were a few who had time to give him some spare training. A few Faunus students had tentatively approached him to ask about his views, to which he replied that he had no real issues with them, only the White Fang had fallen off the path they wanted and resulted in many of them getting targeted. That answer seemed to be met with approval and Jaune found himself with a lot more Faunus friends than anticipated.

One of the biggest supporters for his situation was Team CFVY. Velvet Scarlatina was the name of the rabbit Faunus he helped out from Cardin, and she was such a shy young lady that almost everyone had the instinctive urge to cuddle and assured her safety. The few who shared Cardin's disposition learned very quickly not to say anything to avoid getting pounded on by others, especially in front of her leader Coco Adel whose favorite method of dissuading them of the behavior was to use her handbag-slash-Gatling gun on them, and Velvet's giant of a partner Yatsuhashi Daichi who could get up close and personal with a big sword. The last member of the team, Fox Alistar, could only be described as a silent assassin with those shoulder blades.

Though Jaune wished he could understand why Pyrrha and Velvet would stare intensely at each other at times while occasionally holding his arms, or why Yang, Nora and Coco crackling like crazy women while Weiss, Blake and Ruby were face-palming, with Yatsuhashi and Fox looking to the sky looking for answers.

His 'punishment' if you would call it that was done under the watchful eyes of Glynda Goodwitch and Peter Port. Glynda was making him do a lot of drills with his Aura and Crocea Mors, throwing in random scenarios that would force him to consider the best method of fighting without losing his weapon and losing his temper. She managed to enlist the help of his team and Team RWBY with the option to train them on the side, something they agreed to but for a few ended up becoming quite hard to maintain as she was a serious taskmaster at hand. Much to his consternation, Glynda insisted on having Yang or Nora attack Jaune to enforce his defense, and that lead to an hour's worth of explosions and hard hits. Ren was there to help with his Aura control, Ruby and Blake were there to test his reflexes while Weiss and Pyrrha were to aid in his techniques.

Professor Port had his consultation with Jaune alone, and unlike what his friends and course-mates had thought about that, it was most certainly not story-telling. Granted there were times when the old man seemed whimsical with his advice, but majority of the time he sat quiet and let Jaune talk his issues out before he would discuss them with the teen. Port was quite blunt in his view about how huntsmen should conduct themselves, but he was also quick to remind Jaune that he was not at fault for what had occurred. Whatever stories Professor Port told Jaune were along the lines of what huntsmen had to deal with when drawing the first blood in a fight against a fellow human or Faunus, how they need to accept that they had either harmed someone or taken a life. It certainly helped Jaune in the early stages as he had a few nights waking up from nightmares either from the visions or his fight with Cardin.

Professor Port was however interested in the supposed visions and dreams Jaune had on occasions, and at some point during one of the sessions Jaune admitted to getting some information about his fighting and Grimm anatomy, even bringing forth his notebook to show his notes. Contrary to his fears, Peter liked his notes on the visions and the key points he noted about them. The man even brought forth his own notebooks and journals to demonstrate how he ended up teaching students the way he did. Reading through the professor's notes and hearing him tell his tale made Jaune very grateful to him and his respect grew further for the old professor. Clearly the old professor had to put up a jovial attitude for everyone to hide his pain.

There were low points to his situation of course. Cardin came out of the hospital about a week ago with metallic braces clamped to his arms and had been keeping a low profile at Beacon. He did however complained to his father and that man had been badgering Ozpin for Jaune's expulsion and even tried to use doctored clips to make it look like Jaune was the aggressor. But it was done way too late as the other students had come forward with their witness statements and apparently other bits of information was known in the form of Cardin having beaten a few of the faunus students beforehand or attempting to blackmail them for various tasks. A fair number of those who spoke out were Pyrrha's fans and they made their payback known very well to all. To them, Jaune was the hero and they made sure that everyone knew of it, particularly two evenings after Cardin's return from the hospital.

This was the first time he would learn of a new computer virus called the Howler and the first time Jaune would realize the type of fans Pyrrha had.

(Flashback)

" **CARDIN WINCHESTER!"**

Everyone paused in their actions and turned to said person who was in the far end of the cafeteria and was holding his scroll well away from him, the closest people being able to see the red screen and the animated mouth through the transparent lens as they covered their ears from the shrieking.

" **HOW DARE YOU TRY TO ATTACK THAT YOUNG LADY AND THREATEN OUR MISTRAL CHAMPION PYRRHA NIKOS! YOU THINK YOU ARE SOME BIG SHOT TO MAKE SUCH ACTIONS! YOU ARE JUST THE WHITE SCUM AT THE BOTTOM OF OUR BOOTS, EVEN THE COCKROACHES ARE BETTER THAN YOU! YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A SPOILT BRAT GOING ON THE COATTAILS OF YOUR POLITICIAN BASTARD FATHER! NOT TO MENTION ALL THE DEALINGS YOUR FATHER MADE TO AGGRAVATE THE FAUNUS EVEN MORE SO THAT HE COULD GET SANCTIONS ON THEM AND PUSH THE WHITE FANG FURTHER! YOU THINK BECAUSE OF YOUR DADDY HAVING HANDS IN THE SCHOOL BOARD YOU GET TO PUSH YOUR BULLSHIT AROUND AND THINK OF LAYING YOUR FILTHY HANDS ON PYRRHA NIKOS, YOU HAVE ANOTHER THING COMING ASSHOLE!"**

Everyone in the cafeteria were gaping at the message blaring out for all to hear as the target seemed torn between destroying the scroll and going into a deep hole to hide. Even Glynda who had just arrived was looking hesitant to stop the message.

" **AS FOR MISTER JAUNE MILES ARC!"**

"HI?!" Jaune gulped as people turned to him to see what type of message he would get. Much to their surprise and the relief of a few, the tone got quieter, more formal and more importantly nicer.

" **Thank you for protecting Pyrrha Nikos and the young faunus lady from that brute! I understand it is quite tough with the current situation on Remnant but for you to step out shows that you have guts to pull it off! Just to let you know that you will have our support to watch over you, all we ask is for you to continue being a good partner for Miss Nikos, and to show that humans and Faunus can work together to prove the White Fang wrong!"**

" **Back to Cardin Winchester..."** The message paused before going back to the loud volume.

" **YOU BETTER START PRAYING TO EVERY GODDAMN DEITY OUT THERE THAT WE DON'T COME OVER THERE TO KICK YOUR ASS! YOU MAY HAVE SOMEHOW ESCAPED GETTING EXPELLED FROM THE BEACON ACADEMY BECAUSE OF YOUR DAMN FATHER BUT MAKE NO MISTAKE ASSHOLE, YOUR DAYS ARE NUMBERED! EVERY BIT OF HARASSMENT WE WILL GET, EVERY BIT OF CRIME WE WILL SEND TO THE POLICE, EVERY PORN SITE YOU BEEN TO WILL BE KNOWN TO ALL TO PROTECT THE YOUNG LADIES OF THE ACADEMY! THE WAY WE SEE IT YOU ASS WIPE, YOU ARE PRACTICALLY ONE STEP AWAY FROM BEING BLACKLISTED FROM EVERY ACADEMY OF THE FOUR KINGDOMS! BETTER GET YOUR AFFAIRS IN ORDER BECAUSE YOU WILL BE SERVED PUNK!"**

 _'Biiiii~ Boom~'_

With that the scroll let out a loud shriek before literally blowing up in Cardin's face. The teen gaped for a moment before looking around at everyone staring at him, prompting him to get up and get the hell out to dodge.

(End Flashback)

Yes, Jaune was certainly enlightened by the fan club Pyrrha had around. Within a day of that message, everyone got data packets of information and videos supposedly on Cardin's endeavors or his father's deeds. Evidently Cardin had quite a fair bit of problems that should have seen him out of Beacon and to a prison cell at the most; aside from the bullying, harassment, porn-surfing and blackmailing, he had been seen agitating some of the store owners in Vale to 'persuade' them to serve only humans, one of the more notable being a massage parlor where Cardin and his group went about destroying the furniture as the poor man was pushed into a corner. There was also the supposed rumor that he was taking money for his father when acting on capacity as a huntsman-in-training. Yet despite of all the evidence, it would seemed that Beaufort had pulled a few strings to keep Cardin in Beacon.

But it was a close one, something that Cardin's teammates knew very well and were toeing the line very lightly. Out of the three of them, Dove seemed to be the only one that had actually held back from the bullying the others had done. Only time would tell.

There was also fallout on his part. The clip of him defending Velvet had drawn both praise and criticism from everyone as shown on the internet forums. There were a few who had the same thinking as Cardin, believing that Jaune was a 'freak-lover' weakling who would allow the Faunus to walk over him and in turn empower the White Fang. Worryingly enough, there were also Faunus from outside of Beacon who had stated that Jaune was a fool believing in the possibility of having peace between them and the humans. Word on the street that said Faunus were heavy supporters of the White Fang so they were closely monitored. That being said, there was a vast majority of Faunus who were looking to him to see where he stood, especially when he answered that there were Faunus staying in his home town and that in his honest view, it was stupid to be racist in an area where the Grimm would pick up on your aggression and attack.

Another issue came in the form of Weiss and Blake. In the beginning the two seemed to stick to their corners of the team, not much interaction with Ruby, Yang or his team had happened during the time the professors were cleaning up the forest of the Centipods and the catacombs. But after the incident with Cardin, the two seemed to have gotten into an argument regarding Faunus. Weiss with her family against the White Fang kept bringing up remarks about Faunus that set Blake off, the dark-haired teen claiming that the Faunus were misguided and that actions by her company were making the situation worse. It got to the point that the two had to be physically moved by Yang and Nora to keep the mood while poor Ruby was looking uncertain of what to do. Jaune and Pyrrha had to do some talking with her to ease her mind.

Jaune could only hope for the upcoming trip to be here sooner, that ought to make his situation less tensed. But considering the manner Cardin had been glaring at him and Pyrrha the last couple of days, he was not sure that this would be a quiet one...

 **~~ Scene 2 ~~**

"FEARLESS LEADER!"

"Yes Nora?" Jaune paused in his packing to look to the hammer queen of pancakes coming to him with a big glint in her eyes.

"When we get to the forest, can we have some sap for the pancakes?!" The hyperactive girl bounced on her toes as she brought her hands together. "I heard the syrup made from the sap is great for any type of desserts and treats!" Jaune was mentally worried at this point; Nora was already hyperactive as it was and any form of caffeine or sugar was enough to send her over the top. That much he learned the hard way during the first week of the semester when she asked innocently for some ice cream. It was a hassle with his team and Yang to keep her under control while the others face-palmed at the scene, and it took a few feet of rope to keep her bound long enough to get her on the bullhead back to Beacon.

And if the stories of Forever Fall sap being the sweetest item in Vale was true...

(Inside Jaune's mind...)

" _NORA! DON'T TOUCH THE DETONATOR!"_

" _OH MY OUM, MY SPLEEN!"_

" _REN, CONTROL YOUR GIRLFRIEND!"_

" _SOMEBODY STOP HER BEFORE SHE DESTROYS THE DUST REPOSITORY!"_

" _MEDIC! WE NEED A MEDIC HERE!"_

" _SOMEONE CALL THE ATLAS ARMY, WE NEED BACKUP!"_

" _EVERYONE SHE IS LOOSE! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"_

" _MUHAHAHAHAHAHA! MUWAHAHAHAHA!"_

(Exit Jaune's mind)

"… I might consider that, just as long as we fulfill whatever requirements for the tasks at the forest." Jaune answered.

"YAH!" Nora cheered while throwing her hands up in the air. Her partner turned to direct a flat expression at Jaune with long suffering eyes that basically conveyed the message 'Are you kidding me?' to which Jaune could only shrug in response.

"Oh~ Do you think Professor Oobleck would let us borrow the hammer for this excursion?" Nora turned back and asked with a hopeful tone in her voice.

"I doubt it Nora, after all it is currently being studied by him and the other historians." Jaune leaned back on his chair. "We might get it later but I don't think they would appreciate us using it. It is an artifact after all."

"Aww~ I just thought that with Crimson Blitz currently on hold, you could get an alternate weapon to work with Crocea Mors." Nora slumped on her bed looking like a kicked puppy. "With the hammer, we could be hammer buddies. I can show you the glory of bashing Grimm in the heads!"

"Maybe next time in the future." Jaue placated her with that. Nora could only nod before moving to pack her items, with Ren close by to remove the unnecessary ones. Jaune watched this little work while thinking back to the period Doctor Oobleck approached Jaune for that odd favor involving a certain hammer.

It was around his first week of punishment when Doctor Oobleck came running into the dorms, talked to him at high speeds and dragging her away with him still processing the first half of his words. It was only Professor Goodwitch stopping the doctor that Jaune found himself at the docking bay and halfway inside a bullhead, supposedly to go to the catacombs he and Pyrrha had discovered during their initiation. It took five minutes of fast talking and rebuke from the both of them before Professor Goodwitch allowed Oobleck to kidnap, erm... 'borrow' Jaune for the expedition. It was only during the trip that Oobleck told him of his reasons to dragging Jaune along, and it was all Jaune could do to limit his reaction to blinking as opposed to glaring at the doctor. He seriously dragged him to this flying trap just to remove a certain war relic from the old catacombs?

It later turned to confusion when they arrived at the site to find a queue of students from the entrance all the way to the area where Jaune watched each student try different methods to remove a few weapons that were apparently resisting all of their attempts to remove them. The most extreme would have to be a certain war hammer that was the prize of the day; around it Jaune could see the results of their attempts to remove it, be it from explosives, acid, mechanical means or whatever methods they could think of.

In a way, Jaune could only pity them for their efforts, especially since Oobleck had brought him along to remove the item in question. Jaune was wondering why but figured he would indulged the doctor by walking up to the weapon and at least touch the handle. The expressions on everyone's face as the hammer started to vibrate hard enough to crack the bedrock it was embedded in was quite embarrassing for him. He could still hear the screams of despair as he lifted the hammer from its cradle and held it up for all to see, the etchings on the hammer glowing brightly in the darkness.

And then there was the time when he returned to Beacon with it...

(Flashback)

"Hey Jaune-Jaune!" Jaune barely processed that before getting a pink missile crashed into him and sending him to the floor. He groaned under the weight and mentally considered asking Ren for a weight-loss regime to give to her.

"Are you thinking of me being fat?" Nora's words broke his line of thought and make him look at her with a dangerous light in her eyes, a light shared by the other females surrounding him while his 'brother from another mother' stood way back with a shrug that said 'Not my problem bro'.

Damn it.

"No, of course not. You just remind me of my sister when she does this." Jaune lied with a straight face, praying that it works.

"Okay!" Jaune sighed in relief as Nora accepted it and got up from her position. He was safe from the righteous fury of females. Then Nora spotted the package he held in his hand. "Oh, what you got there?" Jaune shrugged as he removed the cloth to show the war hammer.

"Something I picked up at the catacombs. Doctor Oobleck needed my help to find the place where Pyrrha and I were stuck in and to help move this fellow." Jaune gave that answer as he lifted it to show to them. He decided to keep the part about the weapon rejecting the attempts of others to himself for the time being.

"Oh~ a weapon from the old days!" Nora and Ruby came forward to look at it at all angles. "It is such good shape too! It is just like Crimson Blitz!"

"Want to look at it?" He held it out to Ruby. "Careful, it is a little heavy."

"Thanks!" Ruby grabbed the handle and pulled it towards her, blinking at it with a curious expression. "Hmm, it is actually very light. A lot lighter than I thought."

"Really?" Yang leaned forward to look at the war hammer. "I would think it would be the same if not heavier than Crescent Rose at least."

"That's what I thought. Here, try it out." Ruby flipped the hammer so that the handle was towards Yang.

"Sure." Yang shrugged and reached forward to grab the handle…

'CLUNK!'

"WHAT THE FUCK!"

Only to be pulled down by the hammer that made a big crack in the cement and have her face introduced to the floor. Sputtering as she got up, she glared at the offending weapon before grabbing the handle and pulled hard only to almost drop to the floor again. Her eyes turning red at this point, she grabbed the handle with both hands and let out a yell as she pulled harder, her aura now glowing as the ground beneath her feet cracked and collapsed under the strain. This continued for a short while before she lost her grip and fell backwards with her aura diminished.

"The heck is wrong with that hammer?!" Yang panted hard as she glared at the hammer again. "I thought you said it was light!"

"It is." Ruby blinked as she looked at the weapon again. She grabbed the hammer and lifted it off the ground easily, inspecting it closer to see if she could find anything. "See?"

"Oh honestly, you two must be joking!" Weiss let out a snort and moved forward to it. "It cannot be that bad, you must be bored to pull such a stunt. I am sure that it is not that heavy~" She went to grab the handle and pulled it away from Ruby only to have her knees buckle and hit the ground hard. "OW!"

"Okay, this is getting weird." Jaune blinked as the ice queen attempted to kick the hammer only to start jumping on the spot while grabbing her aching foot.

"Is it really that heavy?" Nora put a finger at her chin as she looked at the hammer before grabbing the hammer. Before Ren could stop her, she started to pull lightly only to have it off the ground too fast, making her stumble lightly. "It is really light, even Magnhild weighs more than this. Why are you guys complaining about the weight?"

"Hey! Not fair!" Yang pouted at the bombastic girl who proceeded to swing the weapon around her. "How come you two can lift it?"

"Maybe it likes me!" Nora smiled as she hopped around with the hammer. "Or maybe it is the type that chooses those that are worthy~ AHA! I am Queen of the Hammers!" She twirled on her feet and pointed the hammer at one of the trees in the area.

"BOOM!"

Only to gape as the hammer glowed a bright white and let loose a lightning bolt that destroyed the tree completely, leaving only a scorched patch of dirt in its place.

"… Whoa..." The bomber looked to the hammer with eyes of one that had met her patron god. "This is awesome!"

"Oh no~" Ren placed both hands to his face and groaned at the possible firepower she now wielded.

"Miss Valkyrie!" Everyone turned to find the headmistress of Beacon coming down on them with a scowl on her face. "What are you doing?"

"Just trying out this weapon!" Nora waved the hammer like it was a foam finger.

"Oh, so I was right about the ore inside!" In a blink of an eye, Doctor Oobleck appeared next to Nora and scrutinizing the war hammer with great interest. "Interesting, even after so many years, the Lightning Dust inside is still going strong that it can fire off a straight bolt! How incredible it has withstood the tests of time!"

"This is the item in question?" Glynda's glare at Oobleck was practically glacial. "You could have warned me about it!" That statement made Nora push the hammer back to Jaune before making an exit with Ren.

"Mister Arc, if you don't mind, perhaps we can make our way to my office so that you can deposit the item in question and get you back." Oobleck merely sipped his drink without reacting to Glynda's glare, "I appreciate the help and hope to study this hammer properly in the light so that I can get it into the museum."

(End Flashback)

Yes, that was a rather odd time to have during his punishment. Jaune carried the hammer to the doctor's office for him to examine and to photograph for reference, occasionally turning the hammer in place for the doctor to check all angles. The part that interested the doctor the most was the array of symbols covering the head of the hammer, consisting of old runes and markings from Vale and old Mantle before it became Atlas. It took Oobleck sometime to translate them but one he did, Jaune could not help the snort at the thought that Nora was closer to the truth than she anticipated.

' _ **Whosoever wields Mjolnir, if he be proven worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.'**_

Least they knew what to call the hammer. The other name Doctor Oobleck theorized was that of the patron god in old Mantle, supposedly one of thunder. Appropriate considering the Dust ore inside the hammer, but tests done by a few friends from Atlas led the doctor to realize that the amount of power released from the hammer was actually increasing for some odd reason and it was enough to make Glynda Goodwitch demand it to be moved elsewhere outside of Beacon or at the least to some bunker in the academy. What the latter meant Jaune did not get to know since Glynda hushed Oobleck at this point and asked Jaune to leave the office.

Oh well, not his problem, best to get back to packing.

 **~~ Scene 3 ~~**

A few odd miles away from Beacon, various kinds of Grimm began appearing en mass under the cover of darkness. Be it Beowulves, Boartusks, Nevermores, King Taijutsu and even the occasional Death Stalker, all of them began to stir restlessly.

They had felt it, the odd presence that had been tickling their senses for some time. For those that have been living in the area, they would be able to tell that the presence has been there for a longer time than them. For the most part, they had ignored it, content that the presence was sealed away from them.

But something has shifted, the presence has grown and started weighing on the Grimm's senses. For the weaker Grimm who could detect it, they made themselves sparse from the area. To the others, they felt an odd sensation of getting a sharp item at their necks waiting to remove their heads.

Then the presence grew, this time something akin to the lightning storms that came about every now and then, with all the static that could mess with their instincts, with the odd scent of iron mixed in it.

They did not like it then, not one bit.

But then, their 'Queen' had noted their odd behavior and ordered them to seek out the source. They could only obey her commands less they suffered her wrath, with the Alphas serving as part of the observation crew to see what was making them agitated.

Slowly but surely, the Grimm started to make their way to the Forever Fall, with one other type of Grimm silently keeping its presence quiet following them.

In the depths of the recently discovered catacombs, several weapons started to glow and vibrate in their places, sensing the presence of their enemies but unable to leave their place. Slowly, each one dimmed and stopped their vibrations, having to wait for the one who would wield them in battle once more.

Back in Beacon, inside the weapons locker of a certain Jaune Arc, a single-edged weapon started to glow the color of its namesake, small arcs of crimson electricity coming off it as it started to shake in agitation. It could sense a danger coming to its bearer but unable to go to him. It could only wait for its bearer to call it to his aid.

In an underground bunker beneath Beacon's feet, another weapon started to vibrate under the watchful eye of a certain professor, his professional curiosity being fed by the anomaly. He wrote quick notes and made recordings of the hammer as the symbols on its body started to glow lightly with small bolts of electricity coming off it, not knowing that its pulsing was in sync with a certain ancient artifact located somewhere in Beacon.

Further down in the earth, in a bunker known only to the headmaster and selected people, laid an unusual room that held equipment that would make one think an Atlas experiment gone mad. All the pipes and cabling seemed to mix together in some unholy matrimony that led to a large medical pod housing a young woman inside. What little could be seen from the frosted glass would let people know that she had tanned skin, shoulder height brown hair and an odd scar on her face. She appeared to be in a deep comatose state as the only bit of movement from her came from her chest that rose and fell at each breath she took.

At least, until one hand started twitching...

 **~~ Scene 4 ~~**

"Yes students, the forest of Forever Fall is very beautiful." The stern headmistress of Beacon stated as she turned to face the teams sent for this trip. "But we are not here to sight-see. Professor Peach has asked for samples to be collected from the trees deep in the forest while I am here to ensure all of you come back to Beacon alive. Each of you are to watch your backs while collecting at least one jar's worth of sap, there are more and tougher Grimm in the forest than what you got from the Initiation." She looked to Team RWBY and JNPR with a raised eyebrow. "We will meet back in an hour. Have fun!"

"You think she really meant that or she was just saying it out for us?" Ruby asked as she watched their professor moved away from them to a small tree creating a shade for her, beginning her tasks of monitoring them and guarding the transport bullhead.

"Definitely the latter." Yang nodded before reaching over to wrap her arm around Jaune much to his embarrassment. "So Lady Killer, which spot to start with?"

"I… I think that spot would do!" Jaune stammered while trying to make sure he did not touch anywhere inappropriate by standing real still. Yang chuckled at his reaction and let go of him before walking off with a sway of her hips, looking over her shoulder to tease him with a wink.

' _Damn it! What is with this academy? Is it meant to be for huntsmen or supermodels?!'_

(Back in Beacon, a certain upperclassman sneezed loudly while his teammates asked if he was having a cold. In a certain clock tower, the headmaster paused in pouring out hot cocoa to look up with a certain smirk.)

"Come on, let's get the syrup!" Nora shouted as she raced forward with Ren following at a more sedated pace. Jaune was about to follow when he spied at the corner of his eye Team CRDL moving away from them with their box of jars. He frowned at the sight of a smaller crate that Russel was carrying with him as they disappeared past the treeline.

"Jaune, what's wrong?" Pyrrha asked while placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Nothing." Jaune assured Pyrrha. "Guess I am a little paranoid around Cardin with all that has happened."

"That is understandable, but I think that Cardin should know that he is already on thin ice as it is so he would need to toe the line right now." The spartan smiled while pulling Jaune along.

"Yeah!" Ruby came to his other side and pulled his other arm. "Don't worry too much about him, just go and get the sap then we can relax!" Jaune could only chuckle at her comments while agreeing with Pyrrha's. That being said, Jaune took one more glance at the direction Cardin went before continuing on to his bit.

He would worry about it later.

"Took you guys long enough." Yang called out as the three got to the others. "Better help with the sap, Nora is trying to clear us out." Indeed Nora seemed to have partaken 2 jars worth of the syrup and was now reaching for a third that Ren had raised his arm away from her to keep it safe.

"We will get right on it!" Ruby brought out Crescent Rose and swung hard at the closest tree, making a deep cut to let the sap out. "Oh~ I got a good one!"

"Nice one Ruby." Jaune took the jars handed to him by Pyrrha and took the sap into them. "Though I get the feeling we would need to seal it off soon."

"Yup!" The girl nodded while placing her own jar. Jaune merely let the sap flow into the jars as he looked around. It was a very beautiful forest indeed, with its dark colors that seemed to blend everything else nicely. The wind was gentle and there was hardly any noise to harm the tranquility of it.

Yes, no noise at all…

It was quiet…

Too quiet?

Jaune straightened his back abruptly and looked around with a nervous eye, his hand gripping the handle of Crocea Mors very tightly. His time with his grandfather and uncle had made him aware that there has to be some sounds in the forest, and if there were none that was usually the indicator that something was very wrong. And considering that Forever Fall was a place that had been frequented by people over the years, that made it more obvious since the creatures would be used to their presence.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha called out to him while the others turned to face him.

"Something is wrong." Jaune answered as he looked with his eyes. "I can't hear anything."

""Well it is a quiet day." Yang replied not understanding his words.

"No, that is not what he meant." Blake commented as she looked around, her eyes narrowed as her hand reached for her sword. "He is right, the forest is too quiet today. Normally you can still hear birds and insects, but I can't hear anything but the wind on the leaves." That got the other's attention and each one started to prep their weapons.

"I got a bad feeling about this." Jaune commented as he felt the hair on his neck stand up, prompting him to turn just as a brief flash drew his attention to the flying jar. He deployed his shield in time to block the jar of sap from hitting his head, spilling its contents on the shield instead.

"Damn it!" Jaune cursed as he looked over the shield to where he spotted Cardin's head peaking out of the bush. "Damn it Cardin!" Before the others could throw in their own words, a buzzing sound filled the air and they found to their horror the wasps heading their way.

"Raspier Wasps! Are they bloody insane?!" Weiss yelled out in rage as she whirled the chamber of her weapon. "That dunce has totally lost it!"

"Jaune, they are going for the sap! Toss your shield away!" Pyrrha yelled as she readied her rifle and started firing Fire Dust Rounds at the wasps. Jaune unclasped the grip and threw the shield as hard as he could to get the wasps away from them.

"Weiss, your Fire Dust!" Ruby called out as Yang got in front of her and started to unload her bullets. The heiress got the right cartridge and stabbed her blade into the ground, creating the insignia of her family crest around Jaune's shield and unleashing a firestorm to burn off the wasps, turning them into ashes.

"That is it! Cardin, get your damn ass down here this fucking instant!" Yang shouted angrily as she stomped her way to where the team was. "Do that and I might make your death a clean one!"

"Not sure that would motivate him or his team to come down." Blake quipped as she made her way to her partner.

"Nope, but it makes me feel better." Yang replied back. The others were about to give their agreements when howls filled the air and the ground started to shake.

"Incoming Grimm!" Someone in the distance yelled out in distress as Beowulves and Boartusks spilled out of the treeline and headed straight for them, their eyes gleaming in madness. There was only one thought going through Jaune's mind as he grabbed his shield and faced them.

 _'Fuck my life!'_

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Hello there, here's the latest chapter for this story. A short chapter to get things started for the forest portion, but it would be interesting to use this to speed things up so to say with Blake/Weiss argument and others. Still thinking about how to get Cardin out of the way. The reviewer cyberas has some good points for me to consider for the story, and I am definitely going to try changing some more of the canon to make it less of a copy-paste issue.

Can you spot some of the shout-outs?

I will be taking a short break from this, got to deal with my other story in the other account Kratos1989. But I will be continuing, so no worries.

As always, please R-&-R and let me know how this goes, and hopefully you stick around for me to bring out another chapter.

And I put my pen down for now.


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